The Difference between Right and Wrong
by cityskyliinee
Summary: (FINAL BOOK OF THE CURSED TRILOGY) Ace and Shadowheart are gone and Stormlight is alone. Tensions are building around the lake as one turns their back on Starclan and, soon, Stormlight will face a choice of leaving her clan to face her mistakes or hiding in the shadows of her own heart. But, in the end, is there really a difference between what's right and wrong?
1. Chapter 1

**Allegiances:**

Lightningclan

 **Leader**

Brackenstar- Golden tabby tom with wise, amber eyes

 **Deputy**

Ivyheart- Black she-cat with yellow eyes

 **Medicine cat**

Fogfur- Dark grey tom with yellow eyes

 _Apprentice, Birdpaw_

 **Warriors**

Reddust- Large calico tom with grey eyes

Flamescar- Ginger tom littered with scars with blue eyes

 _Apprentice, Applepaw_

Lionpelt- big, golden tom with green eyes

Greynose- Dark grey she-cat with amber eyes

Featherpool- Pretty silver she-cat with blue eyes

Clawnose- Large tabby brown tom with a large scar on his face

 _Apprentice, Brownpaw_

Gingerpool- Large ginger she-cat

Stonepelt- Thick furred, grey tom

Burnpelt- Burnt red coloured she-cat with brilliant, blue eyes

Flamefern- Dark grey she-cat with black ears

 _Apprentice, Sandpaw_

Stormlight- Half blind, Silver grey she-cat with a darker stripe running along her spine and yellow eyes

 _Apprentice, Brightpaw_

 **Apprentices**

Brightpaw- Off-white she-cat with black markings

Brownpaw- Dark brown, tabby tom

Sandpaw- Cream coloured she-cat with blue eyes

Applepaw- Dark grey tom with thick fur and blue eyes

Birdpaw- Silver she-cat with darker grey markings and amber eyes

 **Queens**

Burntpelt- Burnt red coloured she-cat with brilliant, blue eyes, mother of Redkit and Spiderkit

 **Kits**

Redkit- Dark ginger tom with blue eyes

Spiderkit- Grey tom with grey eyes

 **Elders**

Yellowfur- Dark grey she-cat

Pineclan

 **Leader**

Violetstar- Black and white she-cat with blue eyes

 **Deputy**

Scarletclaw- Dark russet furred she-cat with blue eyes

 _Apprentice, Snakepaw_

 **Medicine cat**

Marshyeyes- Murky brown tom

 **Warriors**

Owlheart: Light brown tom

Nightheart- Black tom with white paws

Snakeclaw: Big tom with dark gray fur

Fireeyes- White and ginger she-cat with almost red eyes

Dustfur- Dusty coloured tom with green eyes

Hawkswoop- Dark brown tabby tom with ice blue eyes

Greytail- White top with a grey tail and blue eyes

 _Apprentice, Flashpaw_

Stingclaw- Cream coloured tom with blue eyes

Hazeleyes- Chestnut brown she-cat with blue eyes

Starlingwing- Black and ginger she-cat with amber, almost red, eyes

 **Apprentices**

Flashpaw- Black tom with white streaks along his flank

Snakepaw- Black she-cat with green eyes

 **Queens**

Brightwhisker- Light brown tabby she-cat, mother of Heatherkit, Snowkit and Frostkit

 **Kits**

Heatherkit- Pale brown she-cat with deep blue eyes

Snowkit- Pure white tom with icy, blue eyes

Frostkit- White tom with light grey markings and pale green eyes

Heatherclan

 **Leader**

Aspenstar- Brown and white tom with silver eyes

 **Deputy**

Lilyfeather- Mousy brown she-cat with large claws

 **Medicine cat**

Lightpool- Pale brown she-cat with yellow eyes

Rainclan

 **Leader**

Snowstar- White tom with blue eyes

 **Deputy**

Stonefoot- Big grey tom with blue eyes

 **Medicine cat**

Gooseflight- grey tom with blue eyes and black flecks

Cats Outside Clan

Amber- Grey she-cat with amber coloured eyes

Shadowheart- Dark brown tom with several darker markings and magenta eyes (Previously of Lightingclan)

Ace- Nearly black tom with slightly lighter grey, tabby markings and odd, purple eyes (Previously of Lightingclan)

Darkspots- Dark grey tom with lighter grey dots down his back (Previously of Pineclan)

Antclaw- Dark brown tom with yellow eyes (Previously of Pineclan)

Swiftswipe- Black and white tom with blue eyes (Previously of Pineclan)

Russetpelt- Dark ginger she-cat with white markings (Previously of Pineclan)

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

Violetstar had never seen shadows so large. They seemed to creep across the Pineclan camp, covering every corner. The moon was blocked by large pine trees that seemed to curve inwards as they grew.

The Pineclan leader sighed, her tail drooping down from the High Branch.

From the corner of the camp emerged a russet furred she-cat with black markings and blue eyes. She'd exited the medicine cat den, nervously glancing over her shoulder. When she spotted Violetstar, she leapt up to High Branch to join her.

"How's Iceheart?" The black and white she-cat asked.

Scarletclaw glanced at her, "I don't know, Marshyeyes is struggling to deal with all these sick cats."

"When will this leaf-bare end?" Violetstar wailed softly, "how could Starclan do this to us?"

"Starclan cannot help us," Scarletclaw shook her head, "we disobeyed them too many times."

"Our cats are _strong_ , I will not banish them because Starclan sees them as unworthy."

"You banished Duskpelt," the deputy pointed out, "and he was your son."

"Duskpelt deserved to be punished; he betrayed my clan and my trust. But he was punished, he suffered for his crimes and now he's dead."

"But-"

"The supposedly 'unworthy' cats in our clan have proven themselves to be loyal," Violetstar cut off her deputy before turning to her, "or are you suggesting that I throw out your own daughter?"

"No, never." Scarletclaw shook herself, "you're right. The other clans could never understand or be as strong as us because they cannot see the damage they are doing to themselves."

"A few moons ago two warriors in Lightningclan were killed," Violetstar whispered, "Brackenstar told me at a gathering."

"Brightpaw's mentor?" Scarletclaw asked.

"How do you know that?"

"Starlingwing is good friends with the apprentice," she told the leader, "she helped them escape from camp when they were kidnapped as kits."

"Oh, yes," Violetstar looked distant, "those kits…"

"You're thinking about Duskpelt's kits, the Lightningclan ones, aren't you?"

Violetstar sighed, closing her blue eyes for a moment as if she was reflecting on something. Scarletclaw peered at her, her blue eyes narrowed carefully as she assessed the leader. She had changed after Duskpelt had been banished but the deputy was trying to figure out _what_ had changed.

"I am," the leader finally answered, "I know that they're Cursed too."

"There are a lot of Cursed cats," Scarletclaw frowned, "especially in this clan."

"They both seem… significant," Violetstar looked at the sky, "like they're needed for something."

"They're just Lightningclan cats, Violetstar."

"Something is brewing, Scarletclaw," the black and white she-cat's voice went low, "something that neither Starclan or any clan can prevent. And it starts with those kits and _that_ rogue."

"I don't know what you mean." Scarletclaw looked at the leader, "Duskpelt is dead, do you think there's another threat to the forest?"

"The other clans are a threat to us," Violetstar said slowly.

"What? But the lake has been peaceful for moons now, especially since Duskpelt's death. Other than green cough, we haven't had any border skirmishes at all."

"It may have been peaceful for us, Scarletclaw," She looked at her, "but tell that to the two brothers who were killed in Lightningclan. The apprentice murdered in Heatherclan and the mother slain in Rainclan. Why were they killed? Because they were Cursed."

"It's not our responsibility."

"Well I'm tired of not doing anything because 'it's not our responsibility,'" Violetstar snapped, "we can do something about it."

Scarletclaw glanced up, her eyes widened in surprise. "What are you suggesting?"

"A way to help other cats and make our own clan stronger," she got to her paws, "we have lost too many cats this leaf-bare," her gaze fixed on her deputy, "I will not lose anymore."

Scarletclaw watched as Violetstar jumped off the branch and padded into her den, her ears flattened in shock at the conversation she'd just had.

Shaking herself slightly, she glanced at the warrior's den before realising that the restlessness in her body would not let her sleep. Getting to her paws, she climbed higher up the tree that hung over the camp, not stopping until she reached the top.

When she emerged from the leaves, she inhaled the fresh air in slowly. Closing her eyes she let the cooling breeze overcome her, the choking scent and humidity of the medicine cat camp were making her feel claustrophobic, especially with all the sick cats.

Sighing, she looked over the lakes, before noticing something odd in Lightningclan.

Straight across their territory, a strange, purple fire burnt through the forest. Scarletclaw watched in horror as the flames grew, giving off a poisonous acidic smell.

"That can't be natural," she said to herself before looking down on her camp, "Oh, Violetstar, I hope you know what you're doing."

* * *

 **A/N: Bang, bang, bang! We are back for an explosive finale to the Cursed trilogy. Also, told you these two would be important ;). If I'm quick with this, I might even be able to finish this before school starts. Three books wrote in one summer, that'd be impressive.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little prologue thingy and look out for Chapter 2!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"Stormlight?" A voice stirred the grey she-cat awake, "Stormlight? Is that you?"

She blinked awake groaning at the aching feeling in her bones. She cringed as an acidic scent hit her nose and memories of what had happened the previous night came flooding back. Grimacing, she reluctantly got to her paws.

"Brightpaw?" she folded her ears back, "what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," the black and white apprentice shook her head, "do you know how worried everyone was? When the fire happened and we couldn't find you ot Ace or Shadowheart we panicked." She glanced around, "where are Ace and Shadowheart?"

Stormlight flinched at the question, "gone."

"Gone?" She sounded shocked, "they're dead."

"No, they left." The grey she-cat scanned the clearing, "and they're not coming back."

"Why did they leave?"

"Think about it, Brightpaw, what was Ace's power? You trained with him."

The blue eyed she-cat seemed to go rigid, "Ace started the fire?"

Stormlight nodded solemnly, "he did. Shadowheart was in on it too. They took me away from camp and knocked me out so I wouldn't know about the fire. But I woke up and saw what was happening. I _tried_ to stop him but…"

Stormlight peered at the faint burnt marks that had turned her fur black.

"What about Shadowheart?" Brightpaw asked quietly.

She looked at her, "He's Cursed too."

"What are you gonna tell the clan?"

"The truth," She sighed, "there's no point in hiding it."

"You'll tell them you're Cursed?" Brightpaw blinked, shocked.

"No, no…" Stormlight took in a deep breath, "I don't have a death wish," she looked at the sky, "I'll tell them about Shadowheart and Ace but I won't tell them about me."

She glanced at the forest where she'd last seen Ace and unsheathed her claws, anger building up inside of her. Lightningclan would never trust her after this. She was the mate _and_ the sister of a Cursed cat.

' _Oh, Starclan!'_ She thought, ' _why me?'_

* * *

When she got back to camp, she was horrified to see it all in such disarray. She blinked as she watched all the warriors working hard to sort out the camp and make repairs. The elders den was half destroyed, completely exposing the inside of the den. Nearby, the warriors den was completely blackened and avoided by all the cats around it, probably because of the strong acidic scent it was giving off. The high rock seemed unharmed other than a how ash littered its surface. Brackenstar was sitting on top of it, his eyes warily scanning the camps as Ivyheart gave out orders below. When she saw Stormlight, she rushed over to her.

"Stormlight," her voice was heavy with relief, "are you okay? Where's Shadowheart?"

She looked at her mother with tired, yellow eyes and sighed. "I need to speak to Brackenstar."

"No," she insisted, "you need to go to see Fogfur."

"No, mother," she snapped suddenly before calming herself, "I need to speak to Brackenstar."

"What happened to you?"

Stormlight glanced at the burnt patches on her fur, "I'll tell you later, okay?"

Her voice was dull, tired and slightly hoarse from the the smoke.

"I'll take you to Brackenstar," Ivyheart turned to Brightpaw, "help the other apprentices with the clearing up."

"What about Sandpaw? She went out looking for Stormlight too."

"Well, she still needs to find Shadowheart and Ace."

"No, she doesn't," Stormlight cut in.

Ivyheart opened her mouth to question her daughter but stopped herself, "okay, go find her and bring her back. Then help the other apprentices."

"Yes, Ivyheart," Brightpaw nodded before trotting off again.

The deputy gestured for Stormlight to follow her up to the leader's den and she did, slinking behind with her tail hung low.

The events of last night hadn't quite sunk in yet, all she could feel was the absolute misery inside her stomach like she had swallowed a stone.

She padded up to the den, ash sticking to the bottom of her paw pads.

When she pushed her way into the leader's den, she spotted Lionpelt and Gingerpool talking with Brackenstar.

"And with everyone working on camp repairs, we might not even get a chance to organise any patrols," the thick furred, golden warrior told the leader, "we could be attacked by any clan at any moment."

"They have no reason to attack, thought," Gingerpool argued back, "why would anyone want to steal territory from a forest that's been burnt down? We need as many cats working here as possible. Especially with the loss of three warriors…"

"Make it two warriors," Ivyheart cut in causing all three cats to look up.

"Stormlight!" Lionpelt's eyes softened, "you're alive."

"What about your brother?" Gingerpool asked with a distasteful sniff towards the grey warrior.

' _I can see why Shadowheart hates you,'_ thought Stormlight, narrowing her eyes.

She sat beside Ivyheart, trying to ignore the way eyes lingered on her burnt pelt.

"What happened, Stormlight?" Asked Brackenstar in a low voice, "where did you go? Where's Ace and Shadowheart?"

She let her shoulders droop and glanced around uncomfortably. Her mother was there and her leader. Lionpelt used to be her mentor and Gingerpool used to be Shadowheart's mentor. She wondered who would get the most violent reaction when she told her story, would it be better to lie?

"Lionpelt, Gingerpool," her mother interrupted, "will you leave us for a moment?"

The two nodded, carefully making their way out of the den.

' _They all think that they're dead,'_ Stormlight realised, ' _maybe it would be better to let them think that…'_

No, she shook her head, she wasn't going to lie to them.

"Stormlight," Brackenstar peered at her.

"Shadowheart and Ace are _gone_ ," she emphasised the last word.

She felt Ivyheart go rigid beside her and Brackenstar's eyes go soft.

"But they're not dead!"

This caused both the deputy and leader's eyes to widen in shock and surprise.

"Where are they, then?" Asked Brackenstar, "are they hurt? Do we need to send out a search party for them?"

"Ace might be injured," she said that with a little hint of pride in her tone, thinking about the battle, "but… that was my fault."

"How so?" Brackenstar was very confused.

"The fire," she looked at him, "it wasn't natural."

"We know," snorted Ivyheart, "who ever heard of purple fire?"

"Ace started it," she said slowly, "Ace started the fire and Shadowheart helped."

"They're Cursed?" Brackenstar reeled back, horrified.

Stormlight didn't dare look at their mother, "Shadowheart and I left camp, it was only to talk but…" She cringed when she realised that she'd told Shadowheart about her kits, "he knocked me out by the lake so I wouldn't see the fire, so I wouldn't think about it."

The two were silent, listening to Stormlight's tale.

"But… I woke up and I saw the fire and I went to find Shadowheart but I found Ace. He was standing in the middle of flames."

She was lying when she said that she'd been looking for Shadowheart, she saw the fire and had instantly went looking for Ace, it had been no mistake when she found him.

"And he was just watching, the smoke wasn't even affecting him," the memory made her shiver, "I tried to reason with him, I tried to get him to _just listen_ ," she felt like crying, "but he wouldn't."

"We fought," she continued, "and then Shadowheart attacked me with his own pow- Curse." She'd been close to messing up then, "and then they left."

"They just… left?" Brackenstar looked at her.

She glared at him, feeling a sudden, strange urge to claw his face off.

"Yeah, they did."

' _They'll never trust a Cursed cat after this…'_ He thought.

"And your mate and your brother are Cursed?"

Her breathing got heavy, "they are."

"Did you know this?"

She paused, looking him right in his amber eyes. He kept his gaze fixed on her as if daring her to attack him or say something stupid.

"No," she lied, "I didn't know."

Another few seconds past and Stormlight felt as though he was just going to scream to the whole camp right at that very moment that she was Cursed.

But he didn't. Insead, he dipped his head and dismissed her, telling her to do some small errands around the camp.

Stormlight stumbled out of the den, her neck fur rising as she watched the glares of the camp fix on her. Would Brackenstar tell them?

She closed her eyes, how long did she have left in Lightningclan until they discovered the truth?

* * *

" _What about our kits?"_ Ace could remember Stormlight's piercing gaze, " _are you just going to throw everything away when you have a responsibility? How could you?"_

He wanted to shake the away memory from his mind so he would never have to picture the hatred that had burnt in her usually soft yellow eyes, he wanted to forget how he had looked back at her for a few seconds before walking away.

Because, she was right. How could he do this? Why did he do it?

"No," he said to himself, "I was doing the right thing. If that clan is going to kill their own cats because they fear what their 'star cats' say, then they don't deserve to live."

He thought about the way Breezecloud and Patchfur's bodies had been lumped on top of one another in the centre of the clearing. He thought about the way Flamefern had wailed when she had seen the bodies.

He could remember the way Brackenstar hadn't hesitated to give the command to kill, the way their 'clanmates' hadn't waited a second to jump on top of the two brothers because Patchfur was Powered and Breezecloud loved him not matter what.

"I did the right thing, Lightningclan deserved to know what it was like to lose." He repeated it in his mind before laughing, "I sound like my sister."

"Who's your sister?" A voice behind him made him jump.

Shadowheart was standing there, his magenta eyes cold, unaffected by anything. He looked for some sort of inner turmoil going on but found nothing.

"Her name's Amber."

"Is she dead."

The bluntness in his tone made his cringe, what an off handed away to talk about a sibling.

"No, she's fine."

"Did you leave her too?" Shadowheart glared at him.

"Don't give me that crap, Shadowheart," he snapped, "you left Stormlight just like I did and we both did it for the right reasons."

"Keep telling yourself that, rogue."

"After all we've been through, that's how you're going to treat me?"

"What about how you treated Stormlight last night."

The nearly black tom growled, "don't guilt trip me here you bastard, you were just as much as a shithead that I was. Why are you treating me like this?"

He blinked his magenta eyes, "I may have worked with you on this, rogue, but I am not your friend."

"So this is it then, do we part ways?" Ace glared at him.

"We haven't proved our point just yet, rogue," Shadowheart told him before glancing sideways.

Ace followed his gaze from the hill they were sat atop of on and to a luscious, dark green forest filled with pine trees and marshes. He blinked his purple eyes in surprise.

What did Pineclan have to do with all of this?

* * *

 **A/N: Before you have a go at me, Ace was raised a rogue, not a clan cat. And whilst cats don't swear, he does because he has a different background so deal with it.**

 **Pretty satisfied with this chapter, it's really gonna kick into high gear on the next chapter when Pineclan decides to get their shit together.**

 **Also, don't you find it weird how Brackenstar had basically figured out that Stormlight was Cursed and he never did anything about it? Maybe this cat isn't all he seems to be…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"Brightpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Stormlight watched, her chest swelling with pride as her apprentice solemnly and respectfully dipped her head.

"I do," the apprentice said firmly, looking Brackenstar right in the eye.

The golden-brown tom raised his head, "then, by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Brightpaw, from this moment forward you will be known as Brightfur. Starclan honours your enthusiasm and independence."

Brackenfur rested her head on top of Brightfur's as the clan began to call her new name.

"Brightfur! Sandfeather! Brownfoot!" The clan chanted.

Stormlight padded over to her old apprentice who seemed to be fidgeting on the spot, practically _vibrating_ with excitement. She was sitting next to her sibling who, as usual, was slightly calmer than their sister.

"Don't forget," Stormlight said to them, "you still have the vigil tonight."

"I'll be great at it," Brightfur puffed out her chest fur.

Stormlight looked at her and then at Sandfeather and Brownfoot beside her. Brownfoot was vaguely listening to the conversation, a stoic look on his face like he was already holding his vigil. Sandfeather on her other side was smoothing down her fur, laughing at the boasting of her sister.

"I can be quiet," the black and white assured them, "I'm always quiet."

"Whatever you say," Sandfeather rolled his eyes.

"Well," Stormlight glanced up, "the sun's starting to set so have fun guarding camp all night, you three."

Brightfur groaned but Brownfoot and Sandfeather nodded.

It had nearly been a moon since the fire and Stormlight had pressed on forward with her warrior duties, refusing to go into the nursery until the very last minute. Then again, she had hidden it from most of the clan, mainly from fear they'd figure out who the father was.

At this point, every cat in the clan knew the tale that Stormlight had told Brackenstar on the night of the fire and weren't very happy about it. She realised how lucky she was when no one really seemed to suspect her of being Cursed, thinking it was a one off thing in her family with Shadowheart. They didn't know who her father really was and they all seemed to have forgotten that Ivyheart's own mother was Cursed, otherwise, she reckoned they'd definitely realise that she was Cursed.

She had decided to keep the kits her own secret, for now, only Fogfur, the medicine cat, knew about them.

"Well," Stormlight got to her paws, "I'm gonna get some sleep," she grinned at them, "have fun staying awake all night."

She trotted towards the warrior's den, ignoring the way Flamescar and Greynose glared at her as she walked past, they were suspicious of her.

She entered the den, noticing that all of her clanmates were also settling down to sleep. She moved towards the back of the den and into her nest. For the first few nights, she had slept in her old one with the empty nests of both Ace and Shadowheart beside her. But, after awhile, she couldn't take it and opt to sleep beside Flamefern who had experienced just as much rejection from her clanmates as Stormlight had herself.

The smoky grey she-cat flicked her tail in greeting as she heard the lighter coloured warrior pad over. Her leaf-green eyes were closed and her head was tucked between her paws.

Sighing, Stormlight settled down in the nest next to her, twisting around until she found a comfortable position. When she did, she closed her eyes as let herself drift off into sleep.

* * *

When Stormlight woke up to the sound of rushing air and damp starlight, she shot up and looked around wildly. She wasn't in her den, she is some sort of strange place. The colours of everything were much brighter here. The night sky seemed more purple than ever and looked as though it were covered with millions upon millions of stars, more than she had ever seen before.

Blinking, she tried to regain herself, shaking away the strange feeling in her paws.

"Where am I?" She asked to no one.

"You're in Starclan," an unexpected reply made her jump.

Stormlight twisted around to see a familiar grey and black pelted tom with blue eyes sitting behind her.

"Am I dead?" She asked.

"No," Patchfur lifted his head, "I want to speak with you."

"You're lying," Stormlight said slowly, "every cat says that Cursed cats don't go to Starclan, so this can't be Starclan."

"No, only evil cats don't go to Starclan," he told her, "I did not do any wrong in my life, and neither have you."

"Why have you come to speak to me then?" She took a cautious step towards her lost clanmate.

"A darkness is following you, Stormlight," Patchfur said solemnly, "you have lost so much but you will only lose more."

She reeled back, "no, I can't lose more than I already have."

"But you will," his voice was flat, "and Starclan cannot prevent this, only you can. You must learn to forgive those who have done you wrong and see past the lies that others will tell you."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because the greatest change you have ever seen will come to the lake and you must follow it," Patchfur looked up, "if you do not, then you will lose more and more."

Stormlight swallowed and looked away, "What is the change?"

"You must see for yourself."

The world began to fade.

"Wait!" She called to Patchfur, "I don't understand!"

"Follow the change!" He yowled, "follow it before you lose."

And then she woke up.

* * *

Stormlight finished up her mouse, her paws still tingling from the excitement of the dream. She'd seen Patchfur again! She remembered looking over at Flamefern and wondering whether or not to tell her before deciding against it.

She hadn't had much time to ponder the dream as she'd been quickly sent out to do a hunting patrol and then to sleep again in preparation for the gathering.

They were just about ready to leave, the three new warriors, Stormlight and Flamefern were part of the patrol also made up Applepaw, Birdpaw, Clawnose, Burntpelt, Stonepelt, Reddust and Flamescar.

"Are you coming?" Brightfur asked, peering at Stormlight.

She looked up, "Oh- uh- yeah."

Getting to her paws, she joined the patrol and waited for Brackenstar to gesture for them all to leave. She dropped into a pace beside Sandfeather and Brightfur who were happily chatting away. She wondered what Patchfur had meant in the dream, what change? Was he warning her?

' _What do I have left to lose?'_ Was the biggest question on her mind.

Shaking the thoughts away, she decided to concentrate on what she was doing now, travelling to the gathering. They crossed over Heatherclan territory, keeping three tail-lengths from the lake shore. They reached the tree bridge and Stormlight scented the strong scents of Rainclan and Pineclan converging but no Heatherclan yet.

She thought about Pineclan and, for some reason, an uneasy feeling swept over her. Shivering slightly, Stormlight chose to ignore it and followed Brightfur across the tree bridge.

When they reached the other side, she stepped off, taking a deep breath, inhaling the scents of the other clans.

She split off from her clan mates to go find another cat who she'd secretly been missing.

Sure enough, a black and ginger figure darted out in front of her.

"Starlingpaw!" She cried, happy to see the Pineclan she-cat.

"It's Starlingwing now," the younger warrior grinned, "where's Brightpaw?"

Starlingwing, back when she was only a kit, helped Stormlight along with Brightpaw and Sandpaw escape from Pineclan camp back when Duskpelt was in control by showing Ace and Shadowheart where they needed to break into to get them out. Stormlight was forever grateful for that and had remained a steady friendship with her, but not quite as strong as the bond that Brightfur and Starlingwing had formed.

"It's Brightfur," the black and white she-cat appeared beside Stormlight, "hi."

"Hi," Starlingwing greeted back before her voice dropped into a serious tone, "look, I need to ask you guys something."

But Stormlight wasn't paying attention, she was too busy watching an exchange between Violetstar and Snowstar, the Rainclan leader, on top of their tree branches. Brackenstar was yet to join them but Stormlight could almost see the conflict growing violent.

"What is it?" Brightfur asked, not noticing how distracted her clanmate was.

"Around a moon or so ago," Starlingwing began, "we got some new clanmates."

But Stormlight still wasn't listening.

"I'm not supposed to say this but," the Pineclan cat's voice dropped to a whisper, "we'd been hit by Greencough badly, we lost quite a few warriors so letting others join the clan seemed like a great thing. But…. they're…"

"Spit it out, Starlingwing," laughed Brightfur, "who are they?"

Stormlight finally looked up only to meet eyes with another cat, but it wasn't Brightfur or Starlingwing.

A tom had emerged from the crowd and was looking directly at her. His pelt was a dark, dark grey but had lighter coloured markings. He was much taller and larger than Stormlight, it was easy to see his muscles rippling beneath his pelt.

But the most notable thing about him was his bright, violet eyes that bore into her pelt.

She took a step back.

Starlingwing spoke up, "the other moon, Ace joined our clan."

* * *

 **A/N: Dun, dun, duuuuuuun! Hahahaha, I need to stop leaving you guys on cliffhangers, but I just can't help myself!**

 **So, Ace is back and Snowstar isn't very happy with Violetstar, I wonder why….**

 **It's really, really beginning to go down now and, I'm sorry to say this, but the road from here isn't gonna get much happier for Stormlight. In fact, it's gonna get much, much worse...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

"What?" Brightfur was the first to speak up, "how? What?"

"It wasn't _just_ Ace," Starlingwing shuffled her paws, "he joined only a couple of days ago, Shadowheart joined about a moon ago."

Stormlight wasn't looking at either of them, her gaze stuck onto Ace's eyes who was glaring straight back.

"Did you see the fire?" She asked.

"The fire?" The Pineclan warrior seemed confused, "of course, what about it?"

"How long did Ace and Shadowheart join after the fire?"

"Uh-" The black and ginger warrior looked perplexed, "Shadowheart joined maybe one or two days later. Ace it took longer, maybe half a moon."

"Half a moon," Stormlight repeated in a mutter before turning to look Starlingwing in the eye, "who let them join?"

"Violetstar."

"What did they tell you?"

"That they were banished for being Cursed."

"That's the thing, Stormlight," Starlingwing hesitated.

"What is it?" Brightfur peered at her friend.

"The greencough left us really weak, we could hardly sustain the clan," Starlingwing frowned, "Scarletclaw and Violetstar had always known that I was Cursed but they didn't care, they never have. Violetstar reckoned that this was Starclan's punishment, the greencough."

"Then why let more Cursed cats back in?" Brightfur tipped her head to the side.

"Because she doesn't care anymore," she told them, "she knows that Ace and Shadowheart did something but won't say what, they did something bad, I can just feel the guilt coming off of them, especially Ace."

' _If he felt so guilty about it then why did he do it?'_ Stormlight snorted inwardly, ' _his stupid fire ended up killing Blueheart and Hollowheart!'_

"I- I think something's off about them," Starlingwing frowned, "I just can't place a paw on it, that's why I wanted to ask you guys."

"Violetstar knows they did something bad, is that what you're saying?" Stormlight questioned as Brightfur sent her a confused glance.

"Yeah," The Pineclan warrior nodded.

"And she's not worried about them being Cursed, right?"

"Yeah…"

Stormlight snorted, "then don't worry," she looked directly into Ace's eye across the clearing, "Ace only cares about Cursed cats, you have nothing to be suspicious about."

With that, she got to her paws and turned her back to her former mate, walking away into the crowd until she found Flamefern, leaving a bewildered Starlingwing and sympathetic Brightfur behind.

"Hey," the smoky grey she-cat greeted, "I think they're about to begin."

Stormlight glanced up to see that Aspenstar and Brackenstar had joined Violetstar and Snowstar, who seemed to sit as far away as he could from the Pineclan leader as he could, on the tree branches.

The clans, who had been happily chattering away, went quiet as Snowstar stepped forward.

"Before we begin," the white, Rainclan leader began, "I think Violetstar should be permitted to go first."

Aspenstar flicked his ears, unbothered by this, but Brackenstar gazed on, curious.

"Really?" He frowned, "why?"

"Just see," Snowstar spat, glaring at Violetstar.

Stormlight sheathed and unsheathed her claws, preparing herself for what the black and white leader had to stay.

"Cats of all clans," she began, "I come to you with some news that some of you may find bad but some of you will find good."

There were confused mutters throughout all the cats.

"Since birth, all of you have been taught to believe that Cursed cats are evil and deserve to be killed," Violetstar raised her head, "why?"

"Because they come from the Dark Forest!" A cat called out, "everyone knows that!"

"They tried to burn down our forest a few moons ago!" Applepaw responded, confused, "that's pretty bad."

Stormlight tried to find Ace, but the cat was too well blended into the crowd.

"I know the cats you speak off," she continued, "and have you ever thought why they did it? Maybe it was because they realised that the clans wouldn't listen to reason, that their leaders would order them to be killed for no reason other than being born, is that fair?"

Silence.

"Maybe burning down a forest isn't the right way to go about it," she paced across the branch, "and I understand that cats did die but more Cursed cats have been killed in the past moons rather than just two in a fire. I'm not justifying this but maybe it's time the clans moved on, so we can avoid _any_ incidents like this happening again."

Violetstar raised her head, "I'm proposing we change the code."

Instantly, every single cat broke out into surprised yowls, some of anger and disgust but others of plain surprise.

Stormlight glanced over and Flamefern who was studying Violetstar carefully.

A thought came to her mind, ' _this must be the change that Patchfur told me about!'_

"We can't change the code!" An elder cried, "for all generations, it has _never_ been changed!"

"But Cursed cats are evil!" Another apprentice squeaked, "we have to kill them, right?"

Some other cats weren't crying out, they were glancing at each other, not with angry or distasteful eyes, but almost like they were considering Violetstar's words. Stormlight wasn't sure what she thought but Violetstar was right. Ace and Shadowheart's reaction was just that, a reaction to what the code was rather than an unjustified action.

' _But that's still not justification for what they did, for leaving me.'_

"Silence!" Snowstar yowled, silencing every cat at once and swinging his head towards Violetstar, his eyes burning with fury as he looked into her calm eyes. "Rainclan does not accept this suggested change."

Apenstar raised his head, "Neither does Heatherclan!"

Stormlight could feel her heart pounding in her chest as Brackenstar got to his paws.

"Neither does Lightningclan."

Stormlight felt Flamefern droop down beside her, but Violetstar wasn't done.

"That is fine," Violetstar said, bitterness stinging her tone, "if you want to suckle up to your outdated traditions, be my guest," she shifted her bodies back towards the clan, "that doesn't mean Pineclan will stand for it."

Cheers erupted from the marsh dwelling cats whilst the other clans continued looking up in a shocked silence.

"That is why I invite any Cursed cat from any clan to join Pineclan," she unsheathed her claws as she stepped basically hung on the edge of the branch, "I can promise you a place where you will be safe, protected and not discriminated against!"

Another cheer.

"You may join us on the journey back to our camp or join at a later date," Violetstar calm demeanour was lost to a prideful one, "we give you three days to make your decision."

"Do you really think that, even if cats join, we wouldn't fight against this breach of the warrior code?" Snowstar growled.

"Really?" Violetstar said cunningly, "you'd want to fight against a clan full of cats that have powerful curses?"

"We have Starclan on our side."

"Starclan is just as bad as the Dark Forest if they let innocent lives be killed just because they have powers that we can't comprehend." Violetstar snapped.

Sound erupted from the clans again as Flamefern turned to Stormlight.

"What are you gonna do?"

"What?" She narrowed her yellow eyes, "what do you mean?"

"It's obvious that you're Cursed, Stormlight," she told her in a whisper, "it'll be safer."

"What about you?"

Flamefern rose to her paws, "I'm going to join."

"What? And leave behind your own birth clan."

"My _birth_ clan hates me because my brothers were cursed," her voice was low and harsh, "they _killed_ my brothers even though they committed no crime at all. Even if I weren't Cursed, do you really think I could stay here?"

"You're Cursed?" The silver-grey she-cat asked.

She nodded.

"Look, Flamefern-"

"There's no way you can convince me otherwise, Stormlight," the smoky grey she-cat smiled, "you have three days, make the right choice."

With that, she got to her paws and leapt into the crowd, vanishing from sight completely.

* * *

Stormlight didn't remember stumbling back into camp and into her nest and falling asleep, but she did remember jumping off the tree bridge with three fewer cats than they had begun with.

Flamefern, Applepaw and Burntpelt had gone to join Pineclan. Stormlight had known that Brightfur had been teetering on the edge but had chosen to stay because of her siblings and Stormlight herself.

Stormlight had chosen to stay because the thought of having to confront Ace and Shadowheart was too scary. Just seeing Ace at the gathering had left her feeling ill and tired, so she hadn't hesitated to stick with her family. Even after what Patchfur had told her, she didn't think she would ever be able to get herself to leave the forest and join a completely different clan, the idea just felt absurd!

She wasn't about to lie to herself, though, losing Flamefern was a big deal to her, especially considering that, after Ace and Shadowheart had left, the only cats she had left to rely on was Brightfur and Flamefern.

She had fallen asleep to nightmares only to be shaken awake by Gingerpool.

The ginger she-cat stepped back as Stormlight slowly woke up, blinking away at the sleepiness in her eyes.

"Is something up?" She didn't miss the way Gingerpool gave her a distasteful look, "am I on the dawn patrol?"

"No," she told her dismissively, "Brackenstar wants to talk to you."

Stormlight suddenly became very wary, "why?"

"I don't know," she snorted, "why don't you go ask him?"

Gingerpool turned on her paws and strutted out of the den, nose high in the air. Stormlight grimaced at the she-cat, wishing that she wouldn't have to be so rude.

She got to her paws and crept out of the den, careful not to disturb anyone, and padded towards the leader's den. Greylight seemed to be leading the dawn patrol which only consisted of two other cats. There was a large shortage of apprentices now, so most the clan was busily doing their duty for them. Applepaw had been the only warrior apprentice up until she left to join Pineclan. Stormlight felt a twinge of pride towards the tom for leaving, she could never muster up that kind of bravery.

Carefully, she headed up to the high ledge and peered into the leader's den.

"Hello?" She looked into the darkness.

Brackenstar looked up, "ah, Stormlight, come in."

She couldn't help but feel awkward as she walked in, sitting beside her mother who also seemed to be in the den. She had a distant look in her yellow eyes which made Stormlight curious.

"Is everything okay?" The warrior asked.

"It's fine," Brackenstar told her, "I just thought I'd make you… aware of something."

"What is it?"

"Stormlight, the clan knows your Cursed."

She felt panic flare but managed to calm herself, "I d-don't know what you're t-talking about."

"Ivyheart told me who your father was," Brackenstar looked at Ivyheart, "and her mother was Cursed too," he looked back at her, "that makes you likely to be Cursed. Not to mention the fact that your brother was also Cursed."

"Brackenstar," she felt her body quivering, "Please, I'm gonna have kits, I don't want to die."

"This is why I'm warning you."

She glanced at him, surprised, "what? But you've ordered the _death_ of many innocent cats! Why are you warning me?"

"The clan will attack you with or without my permission," he checked the entrance and lowered his voice, "escape to Pineclan, that's the only thing I can ask you to do."

"B-but you let Mouseeyes and Patchfur a-and Breezecloud _die_ ," she was practically spitting at him.

Brackenstar glared at her, the old age dissipating from his eyes. "I could never predict that they were Cursed, I couldn't have just banished them because my own clan would turn against me." He sighed, "I don't want to see any more young cats die because I don't have the power to stop it."

Stormlight breathed, "so you're letting me go?"

"Escape to Pineclan," he ordered, "for the safety of you and your kits, the clan doesn't have to know."

She looked up, first at her mother and then at Brackenstar.

"Thank you, Brackenstar."

* * *

 **A/N: Soooooo…. Brackenstar may not be as terrible as we all thought. Don't get me wrong, he's still a shitty dude for not standing up for Cursed cats but, at least he's warning Stormlight in advance.**

 **Speaking of warnings, Stormlight discovered the change but ignored what Patchfur told her, instead she had to be forcefully told by her leader to leave. So, she's gonna lose something and it's gonna be pretty sad.**

 **So the next couple of chapters are depressing but one of them** _ **is**_ **gonna be from Ace's POV so look out for that.**

 **Thanks for the support and maybe even drop a review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Stormlight got to her paws, dipping her head to her leader before turning to Ivyheart.

"It doesn't matter what any cat says," the black she-cat whispered to her, "I still love you, and Shadowheart too."

Her daughter smiled sadly, "I know, I love you too."

She reeled back, "when you see Shadowheart, tell him I forgive him."

Stormlight looked directly into her mother's eyes, they were identical to her own.

"Why?"

"Because he's my son," she said firmly.

She wanted to question more, but Stormlight decided against it. She nodded, sending a last glance over her shoulder, and exited the den.

The moment she reentered the clearing, a shiver overcame her. Glancing around, she noticed how every cat who was awake seemed to be glaring at her. Swallowing, she stepped down from the high ledge.

It was raining, it had started as a drizzle when she woke up but now it was pelting it down.

"What was that all about?" Brightfur whispered in her ear, ignoring the harsh glare she got from Greynose, who she'd been talking with.

"Pretend to go hunting with me," Stormlight muttered back, "I'll tell you then."

"Okay," the younger warrior nodded, "let me just get some prey."

"I'll meet you by the abandoned twoleg nest," She was keen to get out of the clan.

Brightfur nodded and wandered over to the fresh kill pile.

Stormlight's pelt bristled as she was conscious of the glares of the clan stuck on her, the tension feeling like a brewing storm. Shaking herself slightly, she walked with as much confidence as she could muster to the camp entrance but found her path blocked.

"Where are _you_ going?" Gingerpool shoved her face into Stormlight's.

"Hunting," she lied smoothly, "why?"

"Because I want to."

"In this weather?"

"Yes."

"Alone? Do you want some company?"

"No," Stormlight narrowed her eyes, "I just want to be by myself for a while, is there a problem?"

Gingerpool seemed to exchange a glance with Lionpelt behind her and took a step towards Stormlight, digging her claws into the ground. The silver-grey she-cat eyed the ginger warrior with wariness.

"There is a problem, actually," she began, "I don't _care_ what Brackenstar or Ivyheart thinks, the rest of the clan aren't mouse-brained."

"What are you talking about?" Stormlight eyed the entrance which was being blocked by Reddust and Flamescar.

"Your brother was Cursed, your mate was Cursed, but you just _didn't know_."

"I didn't!"

"We all know it's a lie, Stormlight," she took another step forward "and if you had half a brain you would've run to your boyfriend in Pineclan."

"He's not my boyfriend, not anymore."

Gingerpool laughed, but it wasn't really a laugh. It was more like a cackle, one that made Stormlight tense up.

"Just, let me go hunting, Gingerpool," She said shakily, "okay?"

"Not okay," she sighed, "we're just gonna have to deal with you the hard way."

Suddenly, she heard paw steps approaching her on her blind side. Suspicious, she swivelled around only to receive a heavy blow to the back of the head by Gingerpool. It made her feel dizzy, but she wasn't about to pass out.

Just as Lionpelt began to lunge at her, she dodged underneath him. He tumbled to the ground, dust covering his fur.

She didn't have time to think, though, as more cats attacked her from the front and behind. She hardly had time to dodge as she felt another weight crash against her. She cried out in pain as she landed heavily on her stomach, feeling a heavy blow to her ear.

She hardly recognised any of the pelts that leapt on her, they were all a mixture of grey, brown, ginger and gold blurred together as one in a flurry of claws and teeth. She let out another yowl as someone but her neck like she was a piece prey.

Wildly, she lunged upwards, swiping her paws at anything it came into contact with. Other cats leapt out of the way of the slashing claws whilst others took the opportunity to knock her imbalanced frame to the ground.

She found herself staring straight into the green eyes of Lionpelt. A thought struck her, one that had probably come to every single other Cursed cat who was about to get killed by her clanmates.

' _I can't fight these cats!'_ She realised, ' _they're my family! My clanmates!'_

But they all seemed to have forgotten about it as they continued to swipe violently at her ears, face and body.

Lionpelt, who had always been the strong, respected and calm mentor. Greylight, the queen in the nursery who had basically taught Shadowheart and Stormlight compassion when their mother was still too bitter to do so. Brownfoot, the weak little apprentice who she had tried to her best to help train from the ground up to gain confidence. How could she fight back?

A heavy claw scratch to her flank made her lose consciousness for a couple of seconds. When she regained her self, she pushed upwards on shaky paws, trying to dodge all of the claws in an attempt to reach the camp exit.

Just as she escaped the throng, another cat blocked her entrance, Sandfeather. The cream she-cat was looking down at the injured Stormlight, confusion and conflict evident on her face.

And for a few sweet moments, it looked as though she was going to move out of the way. But then Gingerpool blocked her path.

"It's _over,_ you Cursed scum," the ginger she-cat spat at her, "give up!"

' _I'm going to die,'_ Stormlight realised, ' _this is it, I'm going to die.'_

Her fur was drenched with rain and blood, she was pretty sure she'd lost part of her ear, and she was still feeling dizzy from the blow to the head.

"Then end it," Stormlight spat.

"No!" A voice cried out.

Suddenly, Stormlight found herself being pushed to the ground. She landed on her shoulder with a 'thump.'

Then, that's when she noticed it. The rain had completely stopped. It wasn't gone but the droplets had literally paused in mid air, just hanging there. It was like time had stopped.

Brightfur was standing right in the middle of it, her claws unsheathed and her teeth bared, blue eyes burning holes into Gingerpool.

Stormlight got back to her paws.

"Brightfur?" Sandfeather was the first to speak up.

"You'll move out of the way if you know what's good for you," the black and white she-cat growled.

Her fur was bristled, making her look larger than she was.

"You think we can't take you too?" Laughed Gingerpool, "You may be a powerful Cursed cat, but you can't fight us all."

Stormlight noticed the flash of panic in her former apprentice's eyes.

She didn't want to fight, she was just trying to intimidate them to give them time to escape.

"Can you take both of us, though?" Stormlight felt the energy rush through her body as the hair on everyone's pelts raised with the sudden buzz of crackling electricity in the air as the silver warrior lit up with flashes of bright, white lightning dancing around her.

Gingerpool scoffed, "I'm sure we could."

But the clan seemed to disagree; they were backing away now, their eyes wary of the two as their powers were put on to their full display.

"Are you sure, Gingerpool?" Brightfur asked cockily.

The ginger she-cat's eyes were darting around, their green colour coming to a realisation.

"Then leave!" She spat at the two, "join your lot in Pineclan, see if we care!"

The she-cat stepped away from the entrance, Sandfeather doing the same as she looked at her sister desperately.

Stormlight heard Brightfur mutter an apology as the two fled together, into the forest and away from their clan.

* * *

Stormlight didn't know how long they'd been running for when Brightfur suddenly stopped.

"Starclan, Stormlight!" She cried, "what just happened?"

She shook her head, "honestly, I don't know."

Brightfur took a moment to examine Stormlight who didn't like the look of horror in her eyes.

"You need to see a medicine cat," the black and white warrior whispered, "you look like you're going to die."

"Just drop it for a bit, Brightfur," she sighed, "why did you do it?"

"I wasn't gonna let you get killed!"

"You have a family, Brightfur! What about Sandfeather? Brownfoot? Greylight?"

"You're my family too, Stormlight," she insisted, "you sometimes felt like you were the only one _ever_ there for me! I wasn't about to stand by and let them kill you!"

"They never suspected you!"

"It doesn't matter," she screamed, "if we don't hurry up and get you to Pineclan, you're gonna die. Those wounds look really bad."

' _The kits,'_ Stormlight realised with a crushing sensation in her mind.

"Y-yeah," she looked at Brightfur, "Pineclan, now!"

Brightfur nodded, racing ahead as Stormlight fought to keep up with her, her wounds weighing her down. The adrenaline rush was gone and the weight of her situation was finally crashing down on her. She could die, her kits could die and she was going to live in a completely different clan. Pineclan! Her father's clan! Granted, Duskpelt was dead but had still tried to kill her on multiple occasions before his demise at the claws of Ivyheart.

They had entered Pineclan territory but were yet to encounter a patrol, Stormlight could tell Brightfur was just relieved to get out of Lightningclan.

But the pregnant she-cat had reached a point where she just couldn't go on anymore. Her wounds were killing, her vision was the blurred to the point where Brightfur was an unfocused mess of black and white fur.

Stormlight collapsed her vision fading into black.

* * *

Brightfur watched in horror as her old mentor fell to the ground, her usually vivid yellow eyes were glassy. Her stomach and flank were still bleeding profusely and half of her left ear was missing.

"No," she said quietly, approaching her, "Stormlight?"

She saw the steady rise and fall of her flank, she was alive! But for how long? She was completely unconscious, Brightfur realised that she needed help immediately. But how? Brightfur didn't know Pineclan territory, she didn't know where the camp was, and she wasn't about to go wandering around the woods looking for it whilst her mentor bled to death. No, she had to stay by Stormlight's side, there was only one solution.

"Someone help!" She called, "please! My friend is hurt!"

No reply.

"Please," he voice was hoarse, "she's dying! Help me, please! I don't know what to do!"

There was a rustle from the bushes behind her.

"Hello?" Brightfur was panting, "please, if someone's there _please help me_."

A tom darted out from the bushes, his oddly coloured eyes looking at a desperate Brightfur and down to the dying silver-grey she-cat at her paws.

"No," he muttered, "Stormlight!"

It was Ace.

* * *

 **A/N: The sad life of Stormlight isn't quite done yet, kiddos! Hahahahahahaha, I feel evil.**

 **Also, kudos to me for completing two chapters** _ **and**_ **posting them in under 24 hours, I'm on fire!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

"Stormlight?" He breathed, taking a step back.

Brightfur looked up at him, her large, blue eyes round with panic and desperation. Even if she was angry at him because of the fire, she was too scared to show it.

"Help me, Ace," she said in a hoarse whisper, "she's going to die."

Nodding, the dark grey tom took a shaky step forward and approached the unconscious cat. Her breathing was shallow and her heart rate seemed slow. Her flank was covered in claw marks and bites whilst half of her left ear seemed to be missing.

"There's no way we can carry her," he realised, "the bleeding would only get worse."

"What do we do then?" The younger warrior snapped, "if we leave her here she'll bleed to death."

"I don't know, Brightfur," he growled, "I'm not a medicine cat," he tried to stop his voice from shaking, "I'll get Marshyeyes, stay there!"

Brightfur didn't give him an angry look or a hateful glare but an affirmative nod. He then nodded to himself as a strange way of reassuring himself that _he could_ do this.

He turned his back and began to run back towards the camp, going as fast as his paws would carry him. He didn't know what had happened to Stormlight, but it didn't take a genius to work it out, her clanmates must've turned against her.

Ace could remember the glares Stormlight had sent him at the gathering, they'd been filled with resentment and hatred, it had only added to the mounting guilt that had been stewing in his stomach over time.

But, seeing her lying on the ground covered in scratches with fur soaked with rain and blood and a desperate Brightfur who had hardly acknowledged him aside from begging for help had given him a new feeling.

Helplessness.

Maybe they weren't mates anymore, maybe they weren't friends anymore, maybe they'd never talk to one another again because Ace had caused the biggest fuck up in the history of fuck ups, it didn't mean he didn't care.

So, when he burst into Pineclan camp with heaving sides and burning lungs, he hadn't hesitated to dart into the medicine cat den, ignoring Scarletclaw who had been trying to call him over.

"Marshyeyes!" he yelled the moment he pushed his head through the brambles.

"Ace?" A voice that didn't belong to the medicine cat answered instead, "is everything okay."

"It's not, Starlingwing!" He snapped, completely ignoring a bewildered Shadowheart behind her, "Where's Marshyeyes?"

Ever since he had joined Pineclan, he and Shadowheart had not uttered a word to each other, and Ace wasn't about to end that now.

"I'm here," the murky coloured medicine cat frowned, "is everything okay? I was talking to Starlingwing and Shadowheart about something, can it wait?"

"No, it can't, Marshyeyes," Ace growled, "there are two she-cats on our territory-"

"Invaders?"

He ignored Starlingwing's interruption, "one of them's really badly hurt, she's bleeding and she'd unconscious and I think she's dying."

"Why should we care?" A dismissive snort came from Shadowheart, "they're not supposed to be here."

Ace wanted to claw his ears off, would they stop interrupting.

Luckily, Marshyeyes and Starlingwing seemed to sense the oncoming argument building up between the two and the medicine cat intervened.

"Starlingwing, you know basic herbs, right?"

The black and ginger she-cat nodded.

"Good, then help me."

"Hurry!" Called Ace as the two slipped into the herb store.

"What was that all about, rogue?" Hissed Shadowheart beside him and he stiffened, "Since when do you care for dying strangers. You obviously didn't care when it was your own clanmates dying!"

"Shadowheart," he sucked in the air, "It's Stormlight."

Ace hoped and prayed that the brown, tabby tom would react to the realisation that his sister was dying, but he didn't. Instead, Shadowheart continued to sit there with no panic or sadness in his cold, magenta eyes at all.

"Oh," Ace began, "you are such a d-"

He was cut off by Scarletclaw, "Ace!" The russet furred cat pushed her way into the den, "you don't look very injured, what are you doing in here? I need you to-"

"No time, Scarletclaw," Marshyeyes cut in, Starlingwing behind him, "show us the way, Ace."

The dark coloured tom nodded and gestured with his tail for the two cats to follow him. They raced back out of the camp, Scarletclaw, who was looking very confused, and Shadowheart, who wasn't expressing any emotion at all.

Ace followed every paw step he had taken back towards where Stormlight and Brightfur were, hoping that he hadn't lost her yet.

He pulled his body to a halt when he saw the two, pointing to them with her tail.

"Brightfur!" He yelled.

The she-cat looked up, "she's still breathing."

Marshyeyes approached Stormlight calmly, examining her wounds. "Starlingwing," he called her over, "cobwebs."

The black cat nodded, passing the medicine cat any herbs that he ordered her to. Ace waited and waited, panic flaring inside him.

Shadowheart was looking at Stormlight with a cold, calculating look in his eyes. Ace wanted to whack him around the face and scream a reminder at him that this was her sister that was dying and beg him to have some sort of reaction.

Beside him, Scarletclaw was looking extremely bewildered, her blue eyes horrified as she looked at the bloody, bleeding she-cat on the floor.

Ace didn't know how long they were all sat there for, the only words muttered between them were when Marshyeyes ordered Starlingwing to pass him something whilst the rest of them sat and held their breath.

At this point, the sun was beginning to set, meaning that Stormlight had spent half the day unconscious and Ace had spent half the day out of his mind.

"She'll be okay," Marshyeyes said finally, "she just needs to rest."

"Rest?" Scarletclaw said quietly, "in Pineclan?"

"We can't move her," the medicine cat shook his head, "we can't risk the bleeding starting back up again."

"I'll get the apprentices to fetch some moss, then," She said, "we'll just have to build a nest around her. Starlingwing, go tell them, I need to talk to, you, Ace and uh- Brightpaw, was it?"

"Brightfur," the black and white warrior corrected but Ace could tell she wasn't overly bothered as her worried gaze looked at Stormlight.

"What happened?" Scarletclaw lowered her voice.

"L-Lightningclan turned against her," she said shakily, "they began attacking her because they knew she was Cursed."

"How did they know?"

"Because," Brightfur's tone sharpened as her glare fixed onto Ace, "they found it suspicious that her mate and brother were Cursed so they figured she was Cursed too."

The russet furred deputy shook her head sorrowfully, "I see."

"Anyway," Brightfur continued, "they were just about to kill her, so I intervened. I'm Cursed too. We got a chance to get away so we kept running as then she just collapsed. I didn't know what to do, so I was calling for help when Ace showed up."

"Can you confirm this?" Scarletclaw looked at him.

Ace nodded, "then I went to fetch Marshyeyes and…"

They all glanced at Stormlight. At this point, Shadowheart had left without uttering a single word whilst Marshyeyes had gone to collect more herbs, fresh kill and water along with Starlingwing. The two Pineclan apprentices, Snakepaw and Flashpaw, were working on building a nest around Stormlight.

The grey she-cat was looking better, albeit not much but it was something. The bleeding had stopped and she was covered in cobwebs and herbs.

"She's Duskpelt's kit, Shadowheart's brother?" the deputy said in a hoarse whisper.

"What?" Brightfur looked up, "Duskpelt?"

"Yes," Ace nodded, looking at her.

"Someone needs to stay with her," Scarletclaw muttered, "we can't leave her alone."

"I'll do it," he said quickly.

"No," Brightfur cut in, "I'll do it."

"Brightfur!" Starlingwing, who had just reappeared, "you've travelled from your own clan which you were kicked out from and all the way to our territory, you're coming back to camp to rest."

"But-" The black and white warrior began to protest.

"No 'buts,'" the black and ginger she-cat shook her head, "come on, you must be starving."

Brightfur surrendered and allowed her friend to drag her back to Pineclan camp.

"I need to talk to Violetstar about this," Scarletclaw muttered to herself, "are you sure you'll be okay here on your own?"

"I'll be fine," assured Ace.

' _Besides,'_ he thought, ' _There's something I need to ask Marshyeyes something...'_

As his deputy waved her tail in farewell, he approached the medicine cat who was dropping fresh kill and water soaked moss in front of the makeshift nest as the two apprentices bounded away.

"Ace, are you going to stay here with her?" He asked.

The dark furred warrior nodded.

"Good, if she wakes up, make sure she eats and drinks, I'll send Starlingwing to switch shifts with you in the morning."

"Look," he was dreading the question, "there was something I wanted to ask you."

The murky coloured cat sighed, "I know… I'm sorry Ace, she was too badly injured, the kits would've never survived."

He felt as if his world just came just crashing down on him as he was taken back to that night.

 _He was walking away from it all, his paws stiff as they carried him towards the forest behind Shadowheart, going further and further away from Stormlight._

" _How dare you?" She yelled, "how dare you throw everything away?"_

 _He closed his eyes and kept walking._

" _What about Brightpaw? Flamefern?"_

 _His heart was beating like mad._

" _What about me?"_

 _Her voice was breaking his heart, his chest hurt just to listen. But he couldn't stay, he would never be able to look her in the eyes after what he'd done._

 _So he had kept moving._

" _What about our kits?"_

 _Ace froze, his head turning back to lock onto Stormlight's burning, yellow eyes. Shadowheart continued to walk behind him. She was pregnant?_

" _Are you just going to throw everything away?" Her voice was hoarse with anger, "You have a responsibility!"_

 _She was going to have kits, his kits. How could he just leave them? Then again, would they ever want a traitor like him as a father? First, he'd burnt down his father's home, then he'd burnt down his mate's home._

 _He was a terrible cat._

 _He began to walk away as Stormlight's voice behind him continued to ring on._

" _How could you?"_

"Thank you, Marshyeyes," he dipped his head, "I couldn't have asked for a better medicine cat in Pineclan."

He gave a sad sort of smile and left.

With his heart pounding, he crouched down beside Stormlight.

She stirred slightly, "Ace?"

"Hey," he greeted softly.

"What are you doing here?"

' _What am I doing here?'_ He thought, ' _She doesn't want me here.'_

"Look, I know you don't want to see me or talk to me, so…" he paused, "so I'll get Starlingwing, I'm sure she couldn't mind staying with you or-"

"I've lost them," the silver-grey she-cat said, "my kits, I've lost them, Haven't I?"

"Stormlight-"

"Haven't I?" She repeated the question in a sharper tone.

After a moment's silence, he nodded. "I'm so sorry, Stormlight."

It was painful. She didn't even cry out or wail or anything, she just dropped her head, putting it in her paws. It hurt Ace to see her in this utterly defeated state; her fur was rustled and her eyes showed no other emotion other than plain exhaustion.

"I'll go get Starlingwing," he got to his paws.

"No," she said softly.

He halted, turning to look at her.

"Stay," she whispered, "I don't want to be alone."

Ace nodded, a small smile gracing his features.

"I'll never leave again, promise."

* * *

 **A/N: Me writing this scene like 'FORGIVENESS, CANNNN YOU IMAGGGGINEEEE' (I love you if you get that reference).**

 **Ugh, Ace, my poor boy! Why must you go breaking this fragile heart of mine!**

 **So, the kits are gone, Shadowheart's a dick, Stormlight is severely injured, man, she really should've listened to Patchfur.**

 **Anyway, here's a fun fact about Ace: He'll never ever ever let anyone change his name because he chose it himself and he doesn't want any other cat having some ounce of control over him (like his father and sister who got him to do stuff he didn't want to).**

 **Also, I won't be updating for a while as, on Friday, I'm going to Spain for a week! So just hold out until then, kay?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Stormlight woke up to a jolt of pain. Her bones were aching like she was some sort of elder and pain seared her flanks. Her fur was damp, like it had been raining. But it hadn't, Stormlight would've woken up before if she'd felt the rain patter on her pelt. No, it was warm. Sweltering, in fact. Stormlight's flank was sweaty as humid air buzzed around her. It was hard to think that it had only been raining the day before.

Yawning, she placed her head back on top of her paws, suddenly feeling something even warmer pressing against her pelt.

She glanced at her side to see a dark grey shape curled up. She smiled lightly as Ace's flank raised up and down as he snored softly. His fur was just as damp from sweat as her own.

How had she forgiven him so easily? After the fire, she'd sworn that she would hate him forever. At the gathering, her pelt had bristled with hatred when she'd seen him. But, now, he lay next her, the two of them together peacefully facing the lake as if he hadn't tried to burn the whole forest down.

Maybe, the reason why she'd forgiven him so easily was because she never really hated him in the first place. Sure, she'd been angry, but maybe she'd just made up the hatred in her mind as a coping method for the loss of her mate and her brother.

Maybe, it was because he'd been right. The clan had turned against her like she'd never belonged to them in the first place. They'd killed her kits.

They'd killed her kits.

Stormlight suddenly realised that she could never return to Lightningclan, they wouldn't let her.

And, even if by some miracle they changed their minds about Cursed cats, would she go back? No, her kits were dead, she could _never ever_ forgive them.

But, maybe, just, maybe, if she'd forgiven Ace, then she could forgive Shadowheart.

Maybe she belonged in Pineclan. Technically, she had Pineclan blood flowing through her anyway, thanks to Duskpelt.

Yeah, she could live here. She could hunt in the marshes and walk beneath the tall pine trees.

' _I could be happy here,'_ she thought, sparing another glance at Ace.

"He was supposed to be guarding you, you know," a voice shook her out of her thoughts.

Stormlight glanced up to see Starlingwing who, despite the damp, humid weather, looked cool and laid back.

"Brightfur told me that you hated him," the Pineclan she-cat dipped her head in the sleeping Ace's direction, "she was wrong."

"I…" Stormlight looked for the right words, "I forgave him."

"Forgave him?" She tipped her head, "What'd he do?"

"Doesn't matter," the grey she-cat muttered, "but I do have a question for you."

"Fire away," Starlingwing shrugged.

"You remember ages ago? When you were still a kit and I was still an apprentice."

She peered at her, "yeah…"

"Well…" Stormlight looked for the right words, "You told me that you had a power, right?"

Starlingwing nodded.

"What is it?"

"My power?" The black and ginger she-cat grinned, "this…"

Suddenly, a light, cooling gust of breeze washed over Stormlight. The grey she-cat leant back into it, enjoying the coolness as it swept over her, washing out all the humidity in her pelt.

When it was over, Stormlight glanced up.

"So…" She was confused, had Starlingwing not used her power.

The black and ginger cat simply rolled her eyes and lifted her paw. The breeze returned, this time more violent. It was strong, it caused Ace to stir slightly.

"I can control the wind," Starlingwing told her.

"Neat," complemented Stormlight, "I bet that's great on a day like this."

Starlingwing shrugged, her amber-red eyes scanning the area carefully. It was in that moment that Stormlight realised something. Starlingwing was her half-sister, they both shared blood through Duskpelt. It was a strange realisation for her, to think that she was related to a Pineclan cat. It had been a subconscious thought before, back when she'd found out Duskpelt was her father, but now it was at the forefront of her mind.

Then again, Stormlight supposed that she probably had a lot of half-siblings in all the clans. Didn't Duskpelt say that he had to try with lots of cats in different clans to have Cursed kits.

Stormlight almost physically shuddered at having half-siblings walking around on the moors of Heatherclan or swimming around in the river in Rainclan.

She was once again shaken out of her thoughts by a loud yawn.

Ace had lifted up his head, his violet eyes blinking in the sunlight as he glanced around. He looked surprised to see Starlingwing but even more surprised to see Stormlight. It looked like it took him a couple of seconds to get his bearings.

"What time is it?" He asked grumpily.

"Well," shrugged Starlingwing, "the dawn patrol's already been and gone and I came over to fetch you so you could get some sleep, but it looked like you had plenty of that."

Ace flattened his ears.

"Anyway," the she-cat continued, "do you wanna go back to camp or stay here? I've got prey."

The question was directed at Ace but Stormlight butted in.

"Can I go back to camp?" She questioned, "my legs will cramp if I have to lie here all day."

"No, Stormlight," Starlingwing shook her head, "your legs would probably do a lot worse thank cramp if you tried to make the trek back to camp."

The silver-grey she-cat felt hot with annoyance, "I'll be fine."

"No," it was Ace this time, "you should see the state of yourself. At least give it another day, stand up and stretch your legs if you want but there's no way I'm letting you walk back to camp."

"Fine," Stormlight snapped.

She knew that she was being a bit difficult and that they were only trying to help, but she still wanted to get back to her nest.

"At least drag Shadowheart out here," she sighed, "I want to talk to him."

Stormlight was surprised to see the doubtful glances that Starlingwing and Ace exchanged. In Ace's violet eyes she saw frustration and anger, not directed at her or Starlingwing but probably Shadowheart.

"Is something wrong?" She asked them both.

Starlingwing spared another glance at Ace and sighed. "He… He doesn't want to see you."

Ace looked away.

Stormlight blinked, "what?"

"When you and Brightfur appeared in our territory asking for help, Shadowheart just…"

Stormlight could see it was paining Starlingwing to even say it.

"He just what?" She pressed.

"He just didn't care," the black and ginger she-cat shook her head, "when Ace stayed to look after you, I tried to talk to him but…"

"But what?" Stormlight could feel herself shaking.

"But he said that he didn't want to talk to you because you never wanted to talk to hi, at least, not one Ace was around."

" _I would never hurt you," growled Shadowheart._

 _Stormlight took a step back, watching the flames flicker in the magenta eyes of her brother was looking at her in fury._

" _Then what changed?" She asked, her voice breaking._

 _Shadowheart glared at Ace, it was a glare filled with hate and loathing beyond any reasonable or understandable measure._

 _Stormlight wanted to understand._

She shook herself out of the memory, "I need to talk to him, I don't care what he says."

Starlingwing blinked, "are you sure?"

Stormlight nodded firmly, she had to speak to her brother, so they could be siblings again.

Starlingwing glanced at Ace, "you go get him, I'll stay here."

Ace hesitated, looking as if he were about to argue. Then, he shook his head and raced off into the pine trees, leaving Stormlight alone with Starlingwing who turned to her.

"What happened?" She asked, "what happened between you, Ace and Shadowheart? At the gathering, you _hated_ Ace, what changed?"

Stormlight was going to lie before she realised that Starlingwing, the cat who had once been the lonely kit in the nursery, ignored and neglected by her father, deserved better.

"Ace and Shadowheart started the fire," she told her, "they did it and I hated them for it, it's not difficult to see why. But their reasoning was good, they wanted to prove to the clans that Cursed cats could be strong, that they shouldn't go on thinking that their evil. They taught Lightningclan that Cursed cats could fight back. But they didn't listen," Stormlight's voice was shaking, "they tried to kill me, they almost did but…"

Starlingwing watched in mute horror as Stormlight looked on the verge of breaking down.

"Ace, we were mates. So when he betrayed the clan, it was horrible. I thought ' _they're you're clan, how could you do this?'_ But I was so blind, Starlingwing!"

The Pineclan she-cat continued to watch.

"Lightningclan didn't care when Breezecloud, a normal cat, tried to stop his brother from being murdered. They didn't care when Mouseeyes cried when his own sister killed him. And they certainly didn't care what I'd been through with Ace and Shadowheart because they still tried to kill me."

"In the end," Stormlight continued, "I wasn't the one who betrayed the clan. The clan, since the very beginning, was betraying me because they were _blind_ , _arrogant_ and _stupid_. I should've listened to Ace, I should've listened to his warning but now it's gone because _my kits are dead!_ "

Stormlight's breathing was heavy, she shook violently on trembling paws.

Starlingwing didn't say anything, but she pressed herself against Stormlight and let a cool, calming breeze wash over them.

Stormlight sighed, looking up into the clouds.

' _How Starclan?'_ she asked, ' _How could you let this happen to me?'_

But Starclan would never reply.

* * *

 **A/N: Haha! I'm back from Spain! Very good holiday. Next chapter, expect more cats yelling at each other and at clouds, siblings not being nice to each other and more Starlingwing because damn do I love that cat.**

 **Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you guys about something very important. I'm not a massive reader of books, I like books but I'd rather write. But, as most of you know, I write in third person, I used to write in first person, on a very old account.**

 **Anyway, I began writing in the third person and in my particular writing style because of one book series and I am going to recommend it to y'all right now because I love it.**

 _ **THE GONE SERIES.**_

 _ **Basically, it's a book series by Michael Grant with six books in total and a new sequel series coming out this October.**_

 _ **Its premise is set on this small, beach town in California where everyone over the age of fifteen vanishes randomly one day and the town, and the surrounding area, are encased in an impenetrable dome that comes to be known as the FAYZ.**_

 _ **Inside, kids began to develop supernatural abilities and it's really fucking cool.**_

 _ **Just a little warning, in some books, especially the later ones, it can get a bit graphic.**_

 _ **The main character is a boy called Sam Temple but, don't get this wrong, it tells the story from lots of characters point of view in a way that's very structured and organised and wow I'm in love.**_

 _ **Looking for diversity? Well I can name three homosexual characters from the top of my head, none of whom are cliche at all. There's black people, white people, Mexican people and so so so so many more. I can also name at least six, probably more, strong female characters, all who get their own point of views at one point or another.**_

 _ **Just an FYI, my favourite characters are Drake, Lana, Dekka, Edilio and Hunter!**_

 **So please, please, please, read this series, you won't regret it! I could rant on all day about how much I love it so I need to stop!**

 **If you want, recommend some books to me, but I'll only read them if you promise to read the Gone Series.**

 **Seeya!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

When Shadowheart finally showed up, Ace wasn't with him. Stormlight guessed that, from the look on Ace's face from when she'd mentioned Shadowheart earlier, he could barely stand to be in the tom's presence.

' _How did they ever work together to burn down the forest in the first place?'_ She wondered, ' _Why did Shadowheart even think to work with Ace?'_

She turned to face her brother, sitting up but wincing at her wounds. He wasn't looking at her, he was looking at Starlingwing.

"Brightfur was looking for you," he said.

The damp, humid air went chilly all of a sudden as Starlingwing glared at the tabby tom. The two remained staring at each other for a few moments before she nodded and padded back into the trees.

"Wow," Stormlight was the first to speak, "what did you do to get on her bad side?"

"She doesn't like me," snorted Shadowheart, "she likes Ace."

"Can't she like you at the same time?" She peered at him.

Shadowheart still wasn't looking at her, "the clan is sort of divided right now. You either like me or you like the rogue, it's not a major thing."

"Why do you hate Ace so much?" She asked, "what did he do to you?"

"I don't hate him."

"That's a lie," she said, "you've hated him since day one."

"I don't trust him," his gaze was suddenly locked onto hers, "but I don't hate him."

"Why don't you trust him?"

Shadowheart sighed, "remember when we were kits and you had a crush on Patchkit?"

"I wasn't even a moon old," she said hotly, "what does this have to do with anything?"

He ignored the question. "So you told him that you had a crush and he just told you that he didn't feel the same way and you were really upset about it."

"I went to mother," she said.

"You did, and she told you to grow up and get over it."

"She did."

"She also told you that you needed to be observant," he glared at her, "Ivyheart told you that you should've known that Patchfur would've never liked you back."

"What are you _talking_ about?" Stormlight narrowed her eyes.

Shadowheart sighed, "I took her advice, I was observant. I began noticing everything about everyone. I was only three moons old when I saw Mouseeyes looking at the fresh kill pile like it was a pile of dead cat bodies. You know why? He could talk to those animals. I figured out that he was Cursed before he was killed."

Stormlight blinked.

"I figured out that Duskpelt was our father from the first time we saw him at the gathering," he looked at Stormlight scornfully, "you had to be told by Duskpelt that he was your father when the facts were right there in front of you."

Stormlight took a shaky breath, "what does any of this mean?"

"From the moment Ace waltzed into our clan I saw murder in his eyes. I know about his little sob story about how his sister forced him to set fire to a two-leg place. No one forced him, Stormlight, are you mouse-brained?"

"Shadowheart-"

But he wasn't done. "From the moment I saw Ace I knew that he was hiding something. I couldn't see how everyone trusted him so easily. But I put up with it, you know why, Stormlight?"

"Why?"

He paused to take a breath.

"Because I had you," he looked at her, "I had my sister and if you trusted him, then maybe I could too."

Stormlight was silent.

"But, as time went on, I noticed something…" he took another breath in, "I noticed that I didn't have you anymore. I could feel us falling apart. You felt just like a denmate or a friend rather than _my sister_."

"I'm-"

But he cut her off again.

"At first, I blamed Ace but then I though ' _this can't be his fault, he isn't the one pulling my sister away from me.'_ No," he looked up, "you, Stormlight, you left me."

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Ace, you'd sit by yourselves sharing fresh kill and chatting whilst I was left on my own. Do you know how that feels?" He snapped at her, "So I thought that I'd make one last attempt to pull you both apart."

"I planted the idea in Ace's head that the clan were going to kill you," he continued, "I told him that they were suspicious of you. So Ace came up with a plan to help you escape, but I added a little extra. I told him that the entire clan needed to die to keep you safe. Did the clan need to die? No, of course not. But how else would I make you hate Ace."

His magenta eyes were glittering now.

"So, we began the plan. Late one night, I took you out of the den to 'talk' and you told me all about how you were going to have kits with Ace. I knocked you out by the water so the fire wouldn't harm you, it was part of the plan. But then you woke up a little too early because I didn't hit you hard enough, also part of my plan. You saw Ace and you saw the fire," he laughed, "and you were going to hate him for it."

Stormlight was breathing heavily.

"But, then you begged him to come back. You begged him to stay and I realised that you two were just too close to ever fall apart."

She wanted to stop him, she wanted to stop him from talking because the scorn and the hate in his tone made him sound like a different cat, like he wasn't her sister.

"So I intervened, I showed off my powers to you and I pushed Ace to a point where he'd be forced to have to walk away."

Stormlight stepped forward, "the fire was your idea?"

"It was," he said smugly, "I don't hate Ace. I'm sure he's a great cat if you see so much good in him."

He looked up, his eyes locking with hers. Stormlight was surprised to see the hatred burning in them.

"The truth is, Stormlight," he laughed, "I hate you."

Stormlight felt her heart pounding in her chest, she was staring at Shadowheart, at her brother, in pain. It hurt more than physical ones from her old clan, it almost hurt as much as the loss of her kits.

Maybe it was because he was right. Maybe it was because when Ace showed up in Lightningclan, Stormlight had spent all her time with him. Maybe it was because she had let Shadowheart face to the back of her mind.

"I'm sorry," was all she could say to him.

He looked at her, his eyes cold.

"It just doesn't cut it."

It had been her, Ace and Shadowheart who had rescued the kits. It had been her, Ace and Shadowheart who had always had their own little trio of secrets and feelings.

It had been Ace who had started the fire.

It had been Shadowheart who manipulated him into doing it.

And it had been Stormlight who had pushed them both over the edge.

* * *

 **A/N: WhOOps! Sorry for an info dump chapter but goddamn was this fun to write. This is basically the big moment I've been trying to build up. Shadowheart duped us all!**

 **Just a question, can you guys tell me who your top five favourite characters are? It's for research purposes.**

 **Just for an fyi, here's mine:**

 **5- Shadowheart**

 **4- Starlingwing**

 **3- Stormlight**

 **2- Ace**

 **1- Brightfur**

 **Also tell me your least favourite character too! (Mine's Duskpelt… But I think Brackenstar is a close second!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

"As of now, we are at war," Violetstar's voice echoed around the camp, "the cats of Lightningclan, Heatherclan and Rainclan have turned against us because of our choice."

Stormlight sat in between Brightfur and Starlingwing, looking up at the black and white leader who was making a loud announcement to her clan.

"These three clans have been meeting without us to talk about war," she told them, "we know this thanks to our helpful spy in Lightningclan."

"Sandfeather," Brightfur muttered to her.

"Really?" Stormlight said, surprised.

"Scarletclaw told Starlingwing who told me," said Brightfur.

"We know we have three days to prepare until they approach on both the Rainclan border and Lightningclan border to split us up. But we have a strong clan, filled with both normal and Powered cats alike. We will train our apprentices, we will hunt out prey to keep us strong, we will not lose this battle."

"We will divide up into three patrols. I will lead the first, going to the Rainclan border. Scarletclaw will lead the second, to the Lightningclan border. And, Owlheart, will lead the third, smaller patrol, that will remain to defend the kits."

They began to list who would be on each patrol. Brightfur, Starlingwing, Ace, Flamefern, Shadowheart, Stormlight herself, along with other Cursed cats from Pineclan or from the other clans were on Scarletclaw's patrol.

Stormlight reflected on how big Pineclan was. A lot of cats had defected from their clan to join Pineclan, some were Cursed, others just wanted to see a change in the code.

A lot of the cats were very powerful. Burntpelt, a previous Lightningclan cat, had the power to scorch anything with her powers. Stingclaw, a Pineclan cat, had the Power to make his claws and teeth grow to abnormal lengths. Lightfoot, an ex-Heatherclan cat, could move super quickly. Bouncefur, an ex-Rainclan cat, was stronger than any cat. Rabbitears had an amazing sense of hearing and Yellowtail could predict battle moves.

They were the strongest Cursed cats on Violetstar's patrol. On the other hand, the rest of the strong powered cats had been put onto the Lightningclan one.

That included Stormlight herself.

The Cursed cats, in the four days she'd spent in the clan after her recovery, would pit themselves against each other to see who was the most powerful. It was still an ongoing thing. Stormlight had found herself to easily be able to take on Starlingwing, Burntpelt and Flamefern, who could control plants, along with lots of other Cursed cats. She had struggled but, eventually, succeeded in a fight against Brightfur.

Her and Ace had fought to a draw and she hadn't dared to go up against Shadowheart. Not because his power scared her, though it did slightly, it was mainly because she couldn't look Shadowheart in the eye.

She'd been a wreck after their conversation around a half moon ago and had pushed it out of her mind ever since.

"So," Stormlight heard Starlingwing beside her, "what do you say to a rematch, Brightfur?"

The black and white she-cat turned to the ginger and black one, "oh yeah? I'll just destroy again."

"Wanna bet?"

Brightfur snorted, "of course I do."

Suddenly, she was knocked to the floor by a strong gust of wind in her direction. Brightfur got back to her paws, looking at Starlingwing, who was laughing loudly, with an unamused look on her face.

"Wanna go, Pineclanner?" She playfully hissed.

Starlingwing flicked her ears, "sure, you're practically just a fish with your fancy swimming."

"' _Fancy swimming?'_ " Brightfur repeated, looking genuinely hurt, "you can just make it windy, I can stop rain and freeze a lake."

"I can uproot a tree and probably blow your pretty little fur off."

"You think my fur's pretty?" Brightfur peered at her, laughing.

"If you two don't shut up I'll electrocute you," Stormlight told them.

They both glared at her with mock fear and Stormlight laughed.

She glanced over to the corner of the camp where Ace was talking with Scarletclaw. Stormlight was almost tempted to interrupt them but decided not to as they looked to be in deep conversation.

The sight of Ace made her remember a conversation they had had half a moon again.

" _I don't understand," Stormlight had said, "if he hated me so much then why not confront me."_

 _Ace had shrugged, "you know Shadowheart was never one for confrontation, plus…"_

 _She glared at him, "plus what?"_

" _Plus, don't you remember what he said in the fire?" He asked, "he told you that he never told you about his power because you waited for ages to tell him about your own."_

 _Stormlight sighed, "I'm a terrible sister. I didn't even realise I was pushing him away but I was too scared to tell him anything, especially after we saw Gingerpool kill her own brother."_

" _See, that's where you're not thinking again," Ace said, "that's why he's mad, you thought he'd be just like his mentor, which he wasn't."_

" _Oh, stop blaming me for this."_

" _I'm not blaming you, Stormlight, I'm as much to blame, but Shadowheart is messed up in the head, he could've told you that you were pushing him away and he didn't, he brought this on himself because he's an idiot."_

" _Mouse-brain," she cut in, correcting him._

 _He laughed, "I can say 'idiot' if I want."_

" _You say lots of strange words," she muttered, "you say 'bastard' a lot, I don't understand what that means."_

" _It's an insult," he said, "I'm not sure of the meaning myself, my dad used to say it a lot to any old cat really. I'm sure it does mean something, but it's a city-cat word."_

" _Why did you come to the clans?" Stormlight asked suddenly, "I realised I never asked you. I mean, you had your sister, why leave her?"_

 _Ace looked at her, "family was always important to me, my sister especially. We always kinda stuck together, through everything. It was… difficult to leave her but I knew it was for the better."_

" _How so?" She asked._

 _He opened his mouth, ready to answer before shaking his head._

" _No, that was a lie, who am I kidding?" He said, "It was never for the better. I left because I couldn't stand the guilt whilst my sister got over it so easily. I love Amber, still do, but I was too selfish to stay. I left her because I hated myself."_

 _Stormlight found her mind drifting back towards the memory of her own sibling._

 _No, she didn't want to think about Shadowheart, not now._

" _What life do you prefer?"_

 _Ace looked at her, "are you asking me to chose either you or my sister."_

" _No, I'm asking you to chose between this life and your old one."_

 _He paused for a long time, his silence hung in the air between them as he stared across the lake they were sat at._

" _My life works down in lots of stages, really," he said, "it starts when my mother was still alive, and then into the city, and then when I just lived with my sister, then in Lightningclan and now, in Pineclan."_

" _So, what's your favourite?"_

" _My mother," his reply was almost instant, "but… I have a good feeling about Pineclan, so I can't really say."_

" _What about your least favourite part of life?" She asked._

" _Living with just my sister," he sighed, "what about you?"_

 _Stormlight laughed, "I don't think my life's been as exciting as yours. Lightningclan was my family, but I can't look back on all the good times, not anymore."_

" _They killed our kits."_

" _But before that," she looked at him, "when it was just me and you and no worry about the clan. The part before they turned against me, the part before the fire. That was good."_

" _Even with Duskpelt?"_

" _Duskpelt kinda helped me grow as a cat," she said to him, "I don't think he's a great cat, he's a terrible guy, but I think that I learnt a lot from him."_

" _I know what you mean," he said._

 _Stormlight breathed in, "what do I say to Shadowheart? I need to talk to him."_

" _What would you say?"_

 _She shrugged, "I don't know, try to say sorry?"_

" _It probably won't work."_

" _You're right," she sighed, "so what do you think that I should do?"_

" _Your two are siblings, right?" Ace tipped his head, "you can sort it out, I'm sure."_

 _She glanced at him, his eyes were focused on the lake, deep in the thought._

' _He's thinking about Amber,' she realised._

 _Stormlight sighed, looking out over the lake as well, watching the sunlight hit the water._

She shook her head, wiping the memory from her mind. Starlingwing and Brightfur had gone back to bickering. She spared one last look at Ace before excusing herself. She almost walked straight into Shadowheart before avoiding him at the last second.

She sighed, watching him walk out of the camp, the conversation with Ace unwillingly coming back to her mind. She would have to talk to Shadowheart at some point.

' _I'll do it after the battle,'_ she told herself, ' _that way I don't have to worry about it whilst prepping.'_

' _Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.'_

* * *

 **A/N: God! I hate filler chapters! You'd think that chapters like the Fire one are hardest to write but goddammit filler chapters are so difficult. Question, does the relationship between Stormlight and Ace feeling realistic? I'm not sure. When I write them I feel like they have chemistry but I'm not so sure how well that translates to the readers.**

 **Anyway, the finale is approaching and I want to give three hints of what's to come. This battle won't fix all the problems the code has, there will be a sequel that I will hint to in an epilogue *wink, wink* and one character will die in the battle.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

It was the night before the battle, Stormlight was lying next to Ace, but she wasn't asleep. She was watching the entrance of the den carefully, her eyes focused on the wash of moonlight streaming in through the entrance, silhouetting two figures outside the den.

"Are you sure about this, Violetstar?" Came the voice of Scarletclaw, "we're fighting against all three clans here!"

"I know, Scarletclaw," the Pineclan leader sighed, "but we have Powered cats, that already gives us the advantage."

"But these are all three clans, lots of us will die."

Stormlight placed her head back down on her nest. The same had conversation had been recycled over and over by lots of different cats over the past few days, each worried about the oncoming battle. She had tried to avoid thinking about it, but it was almost impossible to avoid.

' _I won't let anyone die,'_ she told herself, ' _I can protect them.'_

She glanced down at the sleeping Ace, his body pressed against her head. She lay her head on his flank, feeling herself drift away with the gentle rise and fall of his flank.

" _Star cats?" A cat muttered, "what a load of shit."_

 _Stormlight blinked, shaking her head, where was she? She wasn't in camp anymore, she was on a hill, overlooking the lake. Pineclan was directly across it, so she had to be near Heatherclan._

 _The sky looked like an even bright purple than usual, the moon glowing as bright as the sun._

" _Mother? Are you up there with all those star cats?" the voice scoffed, "no, you're not because you were full of crap and lies."_

 _The dialect was familiar, Stormlight realised, the strange words she used sounded a lot like the words Ace would use rather than 'mouse-brain' and 'fox-dung.' Maybe it was a city cat._

" _If you were really watching me, then you'd do something about this! You'd fix this mess!"_

 _Stormlight followed the source of the noise, it came from a cat on the slightly higher ground. She followed it, keeping her body low to the ground._

" _It's not my fault," the voice said, "I was doing what was best, you know I was!"_

 _Stormlight's first sight of the cat made her freeze, her pelt was messy and bruised, fur bristled as if waiting for something to attack. Her claws were unsheathed and her body positioned in a battle form, though, her head was reared up at the sky._

" _So help me, star cats!" The she-cat spat, "help me find him!"_

 _Stormlight blinked, noticing the she-cat wasn't black, but her pelt was so dark it might as well have been. Her amber eyes glowed like fire in the moonlight as she yelled at the stars._

" _Are you okay?" Stormlight asked, carefully approaching the stranger._

 _She didn't react, almost as if she couldn't hear her._

" _You always told me to do the best, not my best, the best, mother! And I did, I've always tried so hard! so. why are you letting them kill me?"_

 _The stranger was doing Stormlight had once done often, especially after the loss of her kits. She was yelling at the stars, demanding an answer. It was an almost pitiful sight._

" _What way do I go, how do I find him, mother?" The stranger asked the stars, "I need to warn him."_

" _Warn who of what?" Stormlight tried to attract the cat's attention again but failed._

' _This must be a dream,' she realised, 'but this is weird, even for my dreams.'_

 _Stormlight heard a rustle behind her, making her jump. It turned out that the stranger heard it too. She headed to the edge of the hill she was standing on and looked down. Stormlight copied._

 _She saw two figures, too far away to see in any real detail, but close enough to hear._

" _Can you see the bitch?" One asked._

" _Her scent trail goes up," the second one said, "she can't have got far."_

 _The stranger reared back out of view from the two new cats and looked around. Her amber eyes seemed to land on the lake, but she glanced up at the sky one more time._

" _Mother," she said, "if you're up there, please tell me I'm doing the right thing."_

 _Nothing._

" _Okay," the stranger sighed, "I'm about to bring a shit storm on these clans."_

" _What do you mean?" Stormlight attempted to talk to her again._

 _Still nothing._

 _The stranger sheathed her claws and pelted down the hill and out of sight._

"Stormlight!" A voice woke her up, "are you okay?"

"Huh, what?" She blinked, confused.

"You were muttering in your sleep," Ace said, "nightmare?"

"I don't remember," She lied, "probably."

He didn't look to be in the mood to push it, "Violetstar says to eat 'cause we're heading down to the border now."

"Already?" She glanced around.

The den was emptying out, most cats were in the clearing, sharing fresh-kill. The tension in the air felt like a lightning bolt, the anticipation and anxiety making her fur stand on end.

"Yeah, already," he said, "c'mon."

He beckoned her out of the den, she followed, her stomach grumbling. Ace had never been a morning cat. On the other hand, there was Brightfur.

"Hey!" The bouncy black and white she-cat greeted, "are you excited."

"I'm tired," grumbled Ace, tossing the two a mouse each.

Stormlight began to happily eat away as Brightfur continued to chat loudly beside her, not put off by the fact that no one was actually responding to her.

"I'm so relieved we're positioned by the lake," she sighed, "otherwise I'd be useless."

Stormlight hummed in an answer and Ace continued to glare at his mouse like it had killed his mother.

"It's kinda awkward we're fighting our clan, though," she continued, "I mean, what if I have to fight Brownfoot or something?"

Stormlight didn't even bother to say anything in response. They had killed her kits.

"You know, I had this dream where I was fighting," Brightfur rambled on, "it was kinda boring, I don't know why it was just dull. You'd think a dream about fighting would be more exciting but it wasn't. Oh, good morning, Starlingwing."

"Mornin'," she said dryly, "how we all doing?"

"Fine," said Stormlight.

"Great," said Brightfur.

Ace just continued to glare.

"Scarletclaw's calling us up in a few minutes, so hurry up," the black and ginger cat settled down on the other side of Brightfur, stretching and letting out a huge yawn.

Brightfur began to chat to her and Stormlight relaxed slightly, trying to get rid of the tense feeling in her shoulders.

Ace leant his head against her and she could feel him falling back asleep.

"Get up, lazy bones," she said nudging him.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered grumpily, lifting his head back up, "let's go."

"Y'know, Ace," said Brightfur, "a good stroll through the forest will wake you up."

"Whatever you say," the grey-black tom said.

"Lightningclan patrol, over here!" Called Scarletclaw.

The four of them exchanged glances and headed over to the red furred deputy who scanned all of them. "Good," she said, "you're all here. We're gonna head down to the border straight away, our spy told us that they were planning on entering by the lakeside, so we'll be heading down that way. But keep your eyes and ears out for everything just in case. Okay?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good, let's go."

Violetstar nodded goodbye to their patrol as she continued to prep her own. Stormlight gave one last look at the camp, contemplating it for a second, before trotting at a steady pace to keep up with the rest of the patrol.

Scarletclaw was in the lead, Starlingwing and Brightfur just a pawstep behind.

Stormlight kept close to Ace, her eyes scanning the undergrowth carefully.

"Will you stop that?" He asked.

She looked at him, "stop what?"

"You're making my fur stand on end," he gestured to his pelt which looked far more spiky than usual.

She laughed, "sorry."

She let the tenseness in her body loosen slightly and Ace's fur flattened.

"It's okay to be nervous, you know," he told her, "you are fighting your old clan."

"It's difficult to care about them anymore," she muttered.

Ace sighed, "I know what you mean."

' _Of course, you do,'_ thought Stormlight, ' _you were happy to burn them alive in the forest.'_

She shook the idea from her head when she remembered her conversation with Shadowheart. Then again, she didn't want to think about that either.

"You okay?" Asked Ace.

"Fine," she said a bit too abruptly, "just, y'know, worried."

"Worried about what?"

"If someone's gonna die."

"No one's gonna die, I won't let them."

"What if you can't stop it?"

"I will," he said, "my mother used to always tell me to the best. Not _my_ best, _the_ best."

Stormlight narrowed her eyes, she had heard another cat say that not too long again. No, she didn't need to contemplate right now, she needed to prep herself.

"The best?" She questioned, "what did she mean?"

"To win," he said, "to do the best is to win."

Stormlight couldn't help but think it was a very narrow-minded way to think. But she didn't have time to think about it as they drew closer to the border. Her ears pricked up and her eyes were repeatedly scanning the undergrowth, each paw step careful and precise.

Scarletclaw's tail twitched slightly to the left. Instantly, the patrol moved towards the bushes to the left, hiding behind their thick leaves. Luckily, the wind was coming from the Lightningclan border, so they'd be the first to scent them rather than the other way around.

The newer, but distant, scent of oak and brambles came to her and she almost felt comforted by the familiar smell of her old home.

' _No,'_ she reminded herself, ' _remember what they did.'_

Scarletclaw turned her head to two cats, Flamefern and Starlingwing, and, silently, ordered them to cross the gap between one clump of bushes and another.

They did as she said and Stormlight heard something.

She wished she could peer through the thick bush leaves to see what was going on. Due to the overwhelming stench, she could guess that the battle patrol was right on top of them right then.

"Did you see that, Greynose?" Asked a small voice.

"Quiet, Redpaw," ordered the Lightningclan cat.

"Don't Lightningclan know how to keep their apprentices silent?" Hissed and unfamiliar voice, from either Rainclan or Heatherclan.

"I can hear something," a voice that sounded a lot like Brackenstar said, "they're close.

" _The clan will attack you with or without my permission," he checked the entrance and lowered his voice, "escape to Pineclan, that's the only thing I ask you to do."_

Brackenstar had almost saved her and her kits from the injuries she had suffered, but his warning had come too late.

"There!" Another unfamiliar voice said, "behind the bushes."

The paw steps were getting louder now.

There was no point in hesitating.

"Pineclan, attack!"

* * *

 **A/N: Ugh! I'm back at school and very tired so sorry if this chapter is terrible. By the way, the mysterious grey cat we saw in Stormlight's dream won't turn up 'till the sequel, but I reckon most of you can guess who it is.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Stormlight wasn't sure who she leapt on, but she felt thick fur tear underneath her claws. The two of them went tumbling down the hill, only stopping inches away from the lake. She forced herself back to her paws, raking a claw across the rival's face.

They staggered backwards, dazed by the blow. Stormlight took the opportunity to try and knock them to the ground, but they were too quick. They slid under her, knocking her off her paws.

She quickly leapt back up, swivelling around to face her attacker.

Whilst she didn't know the name, it was obvious that the cat was from Heatherclan. They had stone brown fur and a much skinnier, smaller frame than most cats.

However, it did make them remarkably quick.

Stormlight hardly had any time to think as a claw was raked along her flank. Her first instinct was to kick her leg out backwards, which turned out to be a smart move when she felt the body of the Heatherclan cat connect with her back paws.

They went flying, falling back to Earth with a 'thunk.' They didn't move but, from what Stormlight could tell, they weren't dead. Probably just unconscious.

Before she could even go up and check, another cat leapt on her from behind.

Stormlight let out a yowl of surprise as she was sent flying straight into the lake. She coughed at the water, lifting her head back into the air. She was soaking wet now.

Growling to herself, she unsheathed her claws again and rushed straight into her attacker, ramming straight into them.

They staggered backwards and she took the opportunity to pin them to the ground.

Fear flickered in their ears before cold, hard anger replaced it.

"Filthy Cursed scum!" He spat at her.

"Lionpelt!" She said in surprise.

"I should've killed you when I had the chance," the golden tom growled, pushing her off of him, "Now you're just a thorn in my paw."

She growled at her former mentor, "I could be a lot worse than a thorn."

She let her power course through her body, letting her fur prickle up as white lightning danced around her. He eyed her coldly, the fur on the back of his neck sticking up from the sudden energy buzzing in the air.

"You deserve to die," he snarled, "you can't scare me with a _curse_ because that's what you are, Stormlight, you're not a clan cat, you're just a curse."

She leapt straight on top of him, moving as quick as lightning. She raked a claw down his side as he yowled out in pain. Lionpelt's fur was frazzled and slightly blackened like he had indeed been hit by lightning.

Stormlight was prepared to land another blow but found herself being tugged away and thrown backwards. She just managed to land on all four paws, skidding across the sandy shore beside the lake.

"Gingerpool," she glared at the she-cat.

The ginger cat smirked, her green eyes filled with her generic smugness they always seemed to hold.

"I had the chance to kill you, but I let you escape," she said, "I first I regretted it but, now, I realise that I have the chance to kill you right here, right now."

"You can't kill me," Stormlight said, "you think being a Cursed makes me evil? You're wrong, you're evil. Being a Cursed cat just makes me stronger."

"Watch your tone, scumbag," she spat back, "you're outnumbered here, two against one? It's not looking very pretty for you."

"Shut up, fox-heart!"

Stormlight leapt for Gingerpool who neatly side stepped. She landed with a light thud and turned around, only to face Lionpelt. She directed a bolt of lightning at him, but it hardly singed his fur.

Gingerpool came up behind her, grabbing her tail in her teeth. Stormlight yowled, kicking the ginger she-cat with her back legs. She was kicked right into a tree, causing the she-cat to be temporarily dazed.

Stormlight herself was feeling dizzy, but she took the opportunity to take out Lionpelt. But her aim was off and clumsy and the golden tom easily overpowered her.

Stormlight was pinned to the ground. She attempted to claw at Lionpelt's underbelly, but it was useless.

He was panting, "you're going to die, Cursed scum."

She felt herself being lifted up by the scruff and thrown away like a piece of fresh-kill. She prepared to be plunged into ice cold water but, instead, landed awkwardly on solid ground on her side.

She coughed slightly, confused.

She wasn't exactly on _solid_ ground.

Brightfur was standing in front of her. Her icy blue gaze fixed on Gingerpool and Lionpelt who were looking at her in shock.

Stormlight shared that shock.

Brightfur had frozen the lake completely. Stormlight could see the ice spreading across all of it, there was no flowing water at all.

It must've been taking an immense amount of power to pull it out and, from the look of Brightfur's face, she was using up her energy.

Stormlight got to her paws, her balance shaky. Using the distraction to her advantage, she sent a flash of lightning down onto a pine tree near the shore. It came crashing down, Gingerpool hardly managing to dodge in time.

The tree crashed through the ice, causing large cracks to appear.

Stormlight was off the lake before all the ice seemed to fall down. Brightfur was fine, she was still out on the lake, but standing above the water, like she could walk on it.

The black and white she-cat stepped back onto dry land, facing Lionpelt. The golden tom was twice her size. She let the water in the lake behind her rise above her head and froze it before sending it crashing down onto him. But she was too tired and he was too quick.

Lionpelt nimbly dodged the oncoming ice, running towards Brightfur. He leapt right on top of her his claw raised.

Suddenly, he was swept off his paws and sent flying backwards by a seemingly invisible force.

"Get away from her, you _dick_."

Starlingwing was walking forward, her fur ruffled by a ferocious wind billowing around her.

Assured that Brightfur was safe, Stormlight went to look for Gingerpool.

But Gingerpool had already leapt back on top of Stormlight again, but she rolled out of the way in time. The ginger she-cat growled in frustration and Stormlight raked a claw straight across her face. The older warrior bit down on the back of her neck, causing her to let out a screech of surprise.

Stormlight went numb with pain, her paws froze up. The ginger she-cat was breathing heavily, her face bleeding from a deep claw scratch. She glared at Stormlight with too much hatred for one to describe.

"You filthy Cursed cat," she growled, "how dare you!"

Stormlight was shaking in pain but forced herself to drop into a battle stance.

"Look at you," Gingerpool spat, "you're pathetic, you keep trying and trying but you're useless! You pretend like you can fight _me_!"

The ginger she-cat raced forwards, pinning Stormlight to the ground faster than she could react.

The ginger she-cat leant down and whispered something in her ear.

"I'll be doing you a favour by killing you." She said the words with so much _hate_ and _disgust_ that is sent a shiver down Stormlight's spine.

But, then again, maybe that wasn't what was causing the shiver.

Around her, it was growing darker, like the shadows were growing larger.

Gingerpool raised her claw ready to land the killing blow.

But it never came.

Stormlight felt herself being shoved out the way by a powerful force. She stumbled away, getting back onto shaky paws.

Shadowheart, her brother, was wrestling with Gingerpool, his strong build easily overpowering his old mentor.

She attempted to fight back, but it was too late. Gingerpool's adrenaline rush was gone and her injuries were too heavy.

With a loud sigh, she breathed her final breath.

At that exact same time, another voice rang out.

"Brackenstar is _dead_!"

It was Scarletclaw. She was standing beside Ace, her muzzle dripping with blood that almost matched her burnt ginger fur. Ace was also covered in blood, it was hard to say whose.

"Lightningclan, retreat!" Ivyheart called out.

Several cats fled. But a few still remained.

The few Heatherclan and Rainclan cats that remained looked at each other anxiously.

"Leave my territory," growled Scarletclaw, "this battle was pointless. You have killed too many of our own!"

Stormlight glanced around and noticed a limp body of an apprentice, Snakepaw, Scarletclaw's apprentice. Brightfur was crouched over Sandfeather's dead body, her head pressed into Starlingwing's fur.

But that wasn't what shocked Stormlight the most.

"No, Shadowheart!" She cried.

The tabby tom had collapsed to the ground.

He had taken the killing blow for Stormlight, he had saved her life and killed Gingerpool, but now he was going to die too.

"Shadowheart!" She crouched over him, pressing a paw onto his neck wound, "Shadowheart, stay with me!"

He wasn't looking at her, why did he never look at her.

"I'm such a mouse-brain," he said, his throat hoarse, "I am _such_ an idiot."

"Save your breath, we can get you help, Marshyeyes will-"

"Shut up, Stormlight," he said softly, "I'm done for."

"No, you can't be."

"Just... let… Me," he could hardly speak, "say something."

"What?" She asked in a whisper.

"I don't know why I did it," he said, "I don't know why I hated you."

"It's okay, it's okay," she said through a choked up throat, "I forgive you."

He placed a paw on her face, "how can you? I'm such an idiot, I just wanted revenge, I just wanted a purpose."

"You have a purpose, Shadowheart, it's to live, live right now!"

He laughed, "I thought I needed to change the clan's mind, I thought I needed to change your mind. I thought I needed to kill you."

"It's okay, it's okay."

"But I was wrong, how can you forgive me after all I d-did, after all I said to you?"

She leant down to him, "I can forgive you, Shadowheart, because I know that you never really hated me, and I was never mad at you."

"Is t-that the truth?"

"From now on, I'm only ever gonna tell the truth."

"Then so will I," he said, his voice hoarse, "I love you, sister."

"Shadowheart," she was crying, "I love you too."

Then she couldn't feel him breathing.

"No, no, no, no!" She screamed at him, "Shadowheart, you bastard, you can't die!"

She screamed and screamed until her throat was hoarse and, then she stopped. She felt Ace pressed his fur against hers, his head rested on top of hers. She leaned into him, not taking her eyes of Shadowheart, not until she drifted off into sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Am I evil? Yeah, I am. We only have the epilogue left now.**

 **Also, I need to ask a favour of you guys, I have a new story up on Wattpad. It's less like TCO as it's entirely original and is more novel like, with longer chapters and such. It would be a big favour if you could check it out, I'll put the link here or on my profile. (My username is Scrapingskies btw).**


	12. Chapter 12

**Epilogue:**

A lot of cats had died in the battle, Violetstar herself had lost her final life. Scarletclaw had become Scarletstar and the new leader of Pineclan with Starlingwing as her deputy.

Ivyheart -or Ivystar as it was now- became the new leader of Lightningclan and had declared to the other two clans that she wouldn't fight Pineclan again as they had lost too many cats last time and had it really been worth it?

The other two clans agreed and, four moons later, a shaky peace had fallen across the lake.

Stormlight had moved one, it had taken a while, and sometimes it was hard, but she had moved on. She had got over what she had had to deal with it and was prepared to move on with her life.

She had tried to have kits again and, this time, it had gone perfectly.

She lay her head against Ace's flank, exhausted. At her stomach lay three, tiny kits. They fidgeted, pushing one another out of the way. None of them had opened their eyes yet, but Stormlight was prepared to wait.

"They're beautiful," muttered Ace.

She hummed in agreement, feeling happy but tired.

"Do you want to name them?" He asked.

She lifted her head slightly, "have you thought of names?"

"Have you?"

She paused, "Yeah, for one of them."

He looked at her curiously, "which one?"

"The tom," she said, nudging the largest kit.

He'd been her first kit and only tom. He was bigger than his two sisters, but not by much. His pelt was a dark shade of brown, patterned with lighter brown markings running down his back.

' _He looks like Shadowheart,'_ she thought sadly.

"Shadekit," she said, "I want to name him Shadekit."

He blinked, "Shadekit? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," she said quietly.

Then, Ace nodded, "it suits him."

"What about this one?" Asked Stormlight, "you can name her."

She pointed with her tail to the small, silver she-cat with a darker, almost black, stripe running down her spine. She was wedged in the middle of her two siblings and appeared to be the most aggressive one of the three.

"I don't know why," he said, "but I think Violetkit suits her."

Stormlight smiled, "I think it does too."

They glanced at the final she-kit. She was the smallest of the three, with sleek, dark grey fur with silver markings running along her back. Stormlight thought that she looked similar to Ace but different at the same time. There was no denying that she was his kit, but, with the way Ace looked at her, it was clear their youngest kit looked very similar to another cat.

"Amberkit," he whispered suddenly.

Stormlight frowned, "huh?"

"She looks like my sister, Amberkit suits her."

Stormlight glanced down at the smallest kit, "yeah… I suppose it does."

* * *

She stood on the boundary between the pine forest and the green-leaf two-leg place. Her paws scraping the small Thunderpath in front of her as she gazed out onto the lush green pine trees that blocked the view of the sky in front of her.

She frowned, narrowing her eyes, should she venture inside? She was already on a clan's territory, she couldn't remember the name of them.

She had shaken off whoever was following her, but she didn't know how long she could keep them off her tail for.

Where was he? When he'd left, she didn't bother following to see what clan he joined, to see whether he was alive or not. Guilt twisted like a knot in her stomach, how could she just leave him? She had promised to look after him, she'd promised that to mother.

Sighing, she glanced back onto the inviting, light green colour of the reed covered territory behind her, watching as the sunlight hit the moors behind it.

The she-cat sighed, she had no idea where she was going. She had managed to shake the cats following her off of her scent but who's to say they hadn't already figured out where she was hiding?

Hiding in the clans was a safer bet than alone, where her scent was mingled with other cats that defended their territory with their life. It was like living in a fortress.

"Hey!" A voice from behind made her jump.

The she-cat swivelled around to see a sleek furred, reddish brown tom crouched into a battle stance, his claws unsheathed.

"What are you doing in our territory?" He asked with a growl.

She made sure to keep her fur flat and her claws sheathed, she wasn't looking for a fight.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your hunting grounds," she said, "I was looking for the clans."

He relaxed slightly, "the clans? Why?"

She swallowed a fake lump in her throat, "You see, I used to live with my brother but then he left and… I'm on my own and I don't think I can live like that."

"Your brother?" He narrowed his eyes, standing to full height, "who's he?"

"You wouldn't know him," she said dismissively.

He eyed her suspiciously, "why are you here?"

"I want to join your clan."

She was being a bit blunt, she could tell, but she didn't want to stand around here anymore not getting anywhere.

"You want to join Rainclan?" He peered at her.

She nodded, "yep."

"Why?"

"I don't want to be alone anymore."

That was a lie, she was perfectly fine being on her own up until those cats started hunting her down to kill her.

The reddish brown tom regarded her with a couple more seconds of wariness and suspicion, she noted that he had a missing ear, she wondered how he'd got it.

"I'll take you to Snowstar, but I can't promise he'll let you in, he hasn't been overly trusting of cats lately."

"Thank you," she dipped her head.

"Follow me," he gestured with his tail.

She went to follow him before pausing.

"Wait, what's your name?"

He glanced back at her, "Redfall, what's yours."

She paused.

"Amber," she said, "my name is Amber."

* * *

 **A/N: Dab! It's done! I've written a trilogy! I am so proud of myself, you have no idea! Agh! I'm so happy!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed, favourited, followed or even just read this! I've had a blast writing this, I never thought I'd actually finish it, but I have!**

 **Anyway, there will be another series (most likely a trilogy or maybe a duology) coming out (it's in the works) in a few weeks times, so you'll have to sit tight and be patient. I'll post the name of it up on here just to let you guys know.**

 **I'll give you a couple ideas of what will happen:**

 **It will revolve around Stormlight and Ace's kits, the story will mostly be from Amberkit's point of view, but we will get the other two as well.**

 **The plot will also centre of Amber who will be living in the clan.**

 **It will have a bit of a focus on Ace too and his struggles of parenting and trying to not to be a terrible father.**

 **Also, even though I've started setting it up throughout this book and a little in the first one, there will be a relationship that I think we'll take you off guard between to she-cats we know quite well ;)**


	13. Sequel Series

**New Series:**

 _ **'The Stranger' Series**_

 _ **Book 1: The Stranger in the Rain**_

 _For moons, the clans have lived in an uneasy peace, each waiting for the other to shake and break first. But there's a new cat in Rainclan, one that three kits have to investigate. Something mysterious is going down at the lake and Amberkit, Shadekit and Violetkit are going to find out but, what it is, could mean the destruction of all four clans._


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